The Suffolk County Water Authority announced that three new Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) water treatment systems have been completed and put into service in the Town of Smithtown. These state-of-the-art treatment systems are specifically designed to remove the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane from the drinking water SCWA supplies. The new systems treat water from three separate public supply wells on Falcon Drive in Hauppauge. The water from these wells supplies homes in that area, as well as the Hauppauge Industrial Park.
SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz said, “The addition of these three new systems builds upon the eight systems we put into service last year. SCWA continues to be at the cutting edge of the water industry, deploying the latest technology so we can reliably deliver on our promise to provide high quality drinking water to our customers.”
Prior to having these systems in place, SCWA restricted the operation of impacted wells to minimize the public’s exposure to these contaminants. One of the two wells at the site had been out of service since September 2020 due to elevated levels of 1,4-dioxane. With the new treatment systems in place, the affected wells are now returned to regular service, easing those constraints on the infrastructure and restoring 2,000 gallons per minute of capacity to the system.
The newly operational treatment systems were partially funded with assistance from New York State. SCWA was awarded grant funding by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation through the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act in 2019. In total, $2.7 million in assistance was awarded by the state for these projects.
SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeffery Szabo added, “SCWA has been at the forefront of developing this technology in New York State. With that expertise, we are bringing these systems online at a much more rapid pace. Thanks to this treatment technology our customers can have the confidence that we are delivering them the highest quality water possible.”
SCWA developed the first AOP system in New York State, with the purpose of destroying 1,4-dioxane in drinking water. AOPs work by adding a small amount of an oxidant into the water—in this case hydrogen peroxide—that passes through an ultraviolet light reactor destroying the 1,4-dioxane molecules. From there, the water then travels through two Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration vessels—industrial-sized carbon filters, which hold 20,000 pounds of carbon medium each—so any remaining detections of the oxidant, as well as other volatile organic compounds, can be removed before water goes through the rest of the treatment and delivery process. This treatment process duo 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.