Sewer Treatment Plant Completed For Forge River Sewer District

MASTIC, NY — Suffolk County officials announced the completion of the long-awaited million Sewage Treatment Plant for the Forge River Watershed Sewer District on Monday.

The state-of-the-art facility will treat wastewater from nearly 2,000 homes and businesses, about half of the community in the hamlet with funds for flood mitigation from Super Storm Sandy in 2012.

The project involved three basic expenses, including the sewer itself, the sewage treatment plant, and a connection from the meter and the street to the building or home, County Executive Ed Romaine said.

"This was unique because we indicated that we wanted everyone to hook up, and because we were using federal funds, we were able to pay for the residents, for the meter, and the hookup to the house, which is a couple thousand dollars," he said, adding that the sewer itself cost about $228 million.

"If anyone thinks that sewers are not expensive, they are," he said. "But the important thing is all of this community of Mastic borders the Forge River, and the Forge River is one of the most impacted rivers for a variety of different reasons."

He noted that the river has been impacted by the former duck farm that is now preserved, as well as the proliferation of cesspools over the years.

"So putting in this sewage treatment plant is going to greatly increase water quality, and we are going to be able to treat waste," he added.

Romaine was joined by a number of other officials, including the state's new Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, Amanda Lefton, as well as lawmakers and civic leaders.

He said that he hopes Lefton brings a message back to Albany for Gov. Kathy Hochul to use some of the $4.1 billion in environmental bond money to help with sewers and water mains for those still on private wells.

"About 70 percent of the county is on septics or cesspools, and that is not good for our groundwater," he said. "It's not good for our bays, the sound, or anything else. So we're hoping to use some of that environmental bond money, put people to work — create jobs. We build an infrastructure that will make sure we have a clean and prosperous future clean water, so not only drinking water, but sewage."

"Because what you're standing on the ground underneath our feet is where we get our water," he said. "We have a sole source aquifer, so we do need sewers here in Suffolk."

He pledged to match any state money dollar for dollar.

Lefton said the state is continuing to "invest big in reducing risk" and making big investments to target nitrogen pollution in the region's waterways with initiatives such as the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, the Groundwater Sustainability Project, the Bay Park Conveyance Project.

The state has partnered with the county on replacing aging septic systems and cesspools to provide grants to homeowners to help repair existing cesspools, and officials will leverage nearly $1.2 billion in funds committed from the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs, and Environmental Bond Act, she said.

"With bond act funds, the DEC and our state agency partners are advancing hundreds of projects across the state, helping our communities be more resilient to climate change, improving our water quality, conserving critical open spaces, protecting wildlife, and helping to ease the transition to a clean energy economy," she added.

Legis. James Mazzarella said he looks forward to working with Albany "on getting some of those dollars down here into Suffolk County and continue on many more projects like this one."

"It's a great day for the Forge River and its surrounding waterways," he said of the homes and businesses that will be serviced by the wastewater treatment plant.

It will not only protect the groundwater, but promote "economic growth for those businesses on our main corridor in the Mastic-Shirley area on Montauk Highway," he said.

Commissioner of Public Works Charles Bartha said the one million gallon a day plant, but county officials are already in the design stage to increase it by 450,000 gallons a day.

"The good news for everyone is that it's tertiary treatment and is discharged back to the groundwater through leaching pools, which are just east of here," he said. "Yep, there's just 519 of them all below ground. So it has zero impact on the community."