The Suffolk County Water Authority has submitted applications to New York State for water infrastructure projects totaling $36,040,000.
The central application requests immediate funding to construct a 1,000,000-gallon concrete water storage tank at its Bridgehampton Road well field in East Hampton to address production capacity lost due to groundwater contamination as a result of a fire at the East End Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in 2023.
The proposed 5,030-square-foot ground reservoir will stabilize distribution system pressure and provide service redundancy in the local water supply system. Production at the Bridgehampton Road facility dropped after the “forever chemical” PFPrA was detected at high levels in two SCWA wells south of the BESS site earlier this year. Three production wells were taken offline and an additional well was put into emergency use protocol. This loss equates to a 7% reduction in the system's production capacity, limiting SCWA’s ability to supply water during one of the highest demand times of the year. The new reservoir will restore this lost capacity.
SCWA has also filed a lawsuit against the parties associated with the energy storage center to protect ratepayers from bearing the financial burden of the damage. However, grant funding would accelerate SCWA’s ability to begin construction on the project without impacting customer rates.
The remaining grant applications cover 14 projects to expand water treatment and distribution. These include five Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) projects to remove PFAS and five Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) projects to destroy 1,4-dioxane.
Additionally, SCWA submitted applications for four water main extension projects to connect homes on private wells impacted by PFAS to the public water supply. These extensions would serve 186 homes in East Moriches, Mattituck, Kings Park, Manorville and Yaphank.
“These grant applications fund infrastructure needed to maintain water service without placing the financial burden on our ratepayers,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz. “The East Hampton reservoir offsets capacity lost to the energy storage center fire, while the treatment and main extension projects continue our work to remove contaminants from drinking water countywide.”
"Connecting homes with compromised private wells to a high quality water supply is a top priority for SCWA," said SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo. "This grant funding is vital to getting shovels in the ground for these water main extensions and treatment systems as quickly as possible."
The state funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvement program provides competitive grants to help municipalities undertake critical wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects. The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation, which administers the grant application process, announced in June that a $425 million application period was open. The application deadline was Monday, July 27th.
About SCWA:
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.