The Suffolk County Water Authority announced that two new Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) systems have been placed into service at its well field on Old Dock Road in Kings Park. The state-of-the-art treatment systems remove the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane from drinking water, ensuring the continued delivery of high-quality public water.
“Getting these systems online represents is a big deal for this community and in our ongoing effort to combat 1,4-dioxane,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz. “Placing these wells back into full service benefits the Kings Park community by improving our supply of high quality water. We now have 19 of these systems in place, the most of any water provider in New York State.”
Both systems were supported by $900,000 state grants from the New York Environmental Facilities Corporation through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) program. Since 2019, SCWA has been awarded $78 million through WIIA to support the installation of treatment for 1,4-dioxane and PFAS, as well as to extend water main to communities on private wells impacted by these contaminants.
“These projects are the proof that we are staying ahead of water quality challenges,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “State support has been critical in helping us deliver advanced treatment systems quickly, keeping our rates low and ensuring our customers have access to high quality drinking water.”
1,4-dioxane is a synthetic industrial chemical classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a likely human carcinogen. It was widely used as a stabilizer in industrial solvents and has been detected in SCWA’s wells. Once released into the environment, it spreads quickly through groundwater, resists natural breakdown and is costly to remove.
SCWA developed the first AOP system in New York State, designed specifically to destroy 1,4-dioxane in drinking water. The treatment process works by adding a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the water, which then passes through an ultraviolet light reactor that breaks apart 1,4-dioxane molecules. The water then flows through two GAC vessels—industrial-sized carbon filters holding 20,000 pounds of carbon medium each—where any remaining traces of the oxidant and other volatile organic compounds are removed before moving through the rest of the treatment and delivery process. This AOP-GAC combination is the only method approved by state and local health departments to remove 1,4-dioxane.
About the Suffolk County Water Authority
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.