Important Information about Your SCWA Bill
As of January 1, 2020 a $20 quarterly fee was added to all customer bills to pay for the cost of developing and operating treatment systems for three contaminants of concern that have been regulated by New York State (Fire Island Customers will see an $80 charge annually). This equates to approximately 22 cents per day.
Though raising the amount we charge you for water service is something we try to avoid whenever possible, our top priority is to provide you with high quality drinking water that meets or surpasses all drinking water standards. State regulators have determined that decades of pollution caused by the manufacturers of the compounds 1,4-dioxane, PFOS and PFOA poses a long-term threat to the groundwater that provides 100% of Long Island’s drinking water. Making sure these contaminants are removed from groundwater before we supply water to your home or business is expected to cost more than $177 million over the next five to six years, hence the urgent need for the revenues raised by the new fee.
The new state regulations will be the toughest in the country for these contaminants, and so you can be assured that you will continue to have some of the best drinking water you can get anywhere. And you should also know that we have pursued and been awarded state grant funds to alleviate a portion of the cost of needed treatment systems and are suing the polluters who caused the problem. We expect both these measures to ultimately have a positive impact on SCWA rates, which are still among the lowest in the country among large water suppliers.
Click here to learn more about the Water Quality Treatment Charge
Click here for the Emerging Contaminants Action Plan Update