Richard Bova of the SCWA Emergency Management Team briefs SCWA staff with respect to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Please know that your water service will not be interrupted, nor will the quality of your water be affected as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the CDC, the COVID-19 virus is not waterborne, and all SCWA water is already treated with chlorine for disinfection purposes.
Understanding that some customers may be experiencing financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, SCWA is temporarily suspending all shut-offs of water service for delinquent customer accounts, and waiving all late fees until further notice.
In order to protect public health, we are temporarily suspending non-essential customer in-home appointments until further notice and limiting public access to SCWA offices during the ongoing coronavirus threat. If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to call our Customer Service line at 631-698-9500.
In an effort to limit person-to-person contact, we are temporarily suspending all non-essential customer in-home appointments until further notice and limiting public access to SCWA offices. The following polices have been put in place effective immediately:
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Beginning Thursday, March 19th the walk-in service counter at the SCWA Customer Care Center in Coram will be temporarily closed. As always, customers are encouraged to pay their bill online at http://SCWA.com or by phone at (631) 698-9500.
- Oakdale Administration Headquarters will allow only individuals with appointments into the building through use of the phone in the vestibule. All others will be allowed to conduct business via the phone only.
- The SCWA Purchasing Department is suspending all in-person public bid openings. All bids and/or proposals shall be delivered by mail, overnight carrier. Bids and/or proposals will be opened by Purchasing department employees. No hand delivery will be accepted. Public openings will be restored in the future. The Great River Purchasing office shall not allow any non-SCWA employees onto the floor unless the individual has an appointment.
- The Bay Shore Production Control office will not allow any non-SCWA employees beyond the vestibule. Any correspondence or payments to SCWA from a customer will be placed in the box inside the vestibule.
- The Oakdale Finance office will not allow any non-SCWA employees into the building unless the individual has an appointment. Any correspondence or payments from a customer should be placed in the box inside the vestibule.
- The Oakdale New Service office will not allow any non-SCWA employee beyond the vestibule. A box has been placed inside the vestibule to allow customers and/or potential customers to leave applications, drawings, checks, and/or any other correspondence for New Service or Cross Connection Control. A list of phone numbers has been posted in the vestibule so that customers can connect to either New Service or Cross Connection for further assistance. A message will be placed on the New Service call-in line informing people of the changes.
- The Great River Engineering office will not allow any non-SCWA employees into the building unless the individual has an appointment.
- The Westhampton office will not allow any non-SCWA employees into the building unless the individual has an appointment. A box has been placed in the vestibule to allow customers to leave correspondence for SCWA or the Central Pine Barrens Commission.
- All tours of the SCWA Education Center and Laboratory located in Hauppauge have been cancelled for the month of March. To re-schedule a tour, please visit www.SCWA.com.
- Inspections of trucks requiring hydrant permits will continue on an appointment basis. People requiring an inspection should contact SCWA when they arrive at SCWA at their appointment time. An SCWA employee will go into the parking lot to perform the inspection.
- SCWA has discontinued in-person cross connection inspections effective immediately and has developed a process by which a plumber can provide photos of the device for SCWA review. Inspections of outdoor devices will continue as normal.
If you have any questions about the policies listed above, please feel free to call our Customer Service line at (631) 698-9500, or email Community Outreach Coordinator Seth Wallach at Seth.Wallach@SCWA.com. We thank you in advance for your understanding. If we all work together, we can prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey W. Szabo
Chief Executive Officer