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SCWA HISTORY
OUR FIRST DECADE
PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION FOR SUFFOLK
WATER CUSTOMERS BECOMES A REALITY
New York State's first public benefit corporation for water service began
operations on June 1, 1951, with 21,159 customers, when the SCWA acquired
the South Bay Consolidated Water Company. The new not-for-profit entity,
which has since become the model for numerous other water authorities,
began immediately to extend public water service to more Suffolk residents
each year. By 1961, the Water Authority was serving 83,313 customers
directly and an additional 3,236 through sales of water to water
districts, for a total of 86,549.
Water mains, wells, pump stations and other facilities were constructed
during the SCWA's first decade in communities throughout Suffolk, including
Huntington, Port Jefferson, Sag Harbor, Westhampton, Babylon and many
others in between. The SCWA also built its administrative headquarters
in Oakdale.
OUR SECOND DECADE
THE TREND OF DRAMATIC EXPANSION CONTINUES
During the Water Authority's second decade, we continued to add customers
and build additional facilities at a steady pace. For instance, a new
Control Center in Bay Shore enabled us to monitor pump stations through
telemetered circuits. A new type of well designed by SCWA engineers,
installed in Commack, was the largest well ever drilled on Long Island
up to that time.
The Authority's strong financial position during this period was reflected
in an improved bond rating; in 1964, we sold $17,000,000 of Water Works
Revenue Bonds. The SCWA also played a major role in conducting the
"Comprehensive Water Supply Study" authorized by the Suffolk County Board
of Supervisors.
OUR THIRD DECADE
THE AUTHORITY CONTINUES TO GROW WITH
THE HELP OF THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY
Having completed our first 20 years of service to Suffolk residents in 1971,
we began our third decade with nearly 180,000 customers. Yearly pumpage
figures soon exceeded the previous record of 24,277,000,000 gallons and
continued to increase. During the final year of this period, the SCWA
supplied 38,756,000,000 gallons of water to 238,958 customers.
The Water Authority also expanded its use of the latest technology to a
significant degree during this period. Automatic chlorinating equipment
was introduced, and new lab equipment such as an Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer enabled us to upgrade our ability to conduct in-house
water analyses. Our Production Control Department was able to replace a
manually-controlled system for monitoring pump stations with a
sensor-based, automated computer system.
OUR FOURTH DECADE
THE SCWA MEETS THE CHALLENGE OF IMPLEMENTING
MUCH MORE STRINGENT WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
As the technology became available to detect many contaminants at lower
and lower levels during the Authority's fourth decade (1981-1991), water
quality standards became more and more stringent. So even as we continued
to expand, much of the focus of this period was in meeting the challenges
posed by the new regulations.
We embarked on an extensive Air Stripping Research Program to develop
the most economical means of removing organic contaminants at a number
of wells. Additionally, we installed water treatment facilities where
needed to enable us to meet the new standards. Despite the challenges
involved, we maintained our record of never violating a health standard.
Another challenge we met successfully during this decade was in
maintaining operations at full capacity and keeping all our
customers supplied with safe drinking water during the Hurricane
Gloria emergency.
OUR FIFTH DECADE
THE AUTHORITY'S COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE CONTINUES WITH AN INCREASED EMPHASIS ON STEWARDSHIP
During our fifth decade, a new leadership team continued the accomplishments
and successful trends that were already underway with a special focus on
the theme of stewardship. It was during this decade, for instance, that
we took a very active leadership role in working towards the enactment of
the landmark Pine Barrens Preservation Act, which created the largest groundwater
protection program in the United States. We brought lawsuits against
polluters and advocated for measures to protect drinking water such as
a ban on MTBE. We joined the Groundwater Guardian program and increased
our educational and outreach efforts, particularly through
our new website. We also began mailing a detailed water quality report
to each customer.
It was during this period that the American Water Works Association
designated the SCWA as the largest supplier in the nation based entirely
upon groundwater. As we celebrated our 50th Anniversary, we were serving
352,763 residential and business customers-more than a million people.
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