About the Program

Approximately seventy percent of Suffolk County's 1.5 million residents have an on-site sanitary wastewater treatment and disposal system. These systems consist of a septic tank or cesspool for solids, connected to leaching pools to allow clarified water to seep into the ground. Many of the on-site systems in established communities are more than 40 years old, and as systems have aged, failure rates have increased dramatically, especially in the case where high groundwater conditions exist. As a result of the aging infrastructure and the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Suffolk County Comprehensive Water Resources Management plan found the following:

• Gradual decline in quality of drinking water
• Negative trends in quality of drinking water
• Harmful algal blooms and Brown Tides attributed to excessive nutrient loads
• Loss of wetlands is leading to a depleted coastal resiliency
• Nitrification, impaired water bodies, impaired rivers, closed beaches, and devastation of the shellfish industry

SCCRI represents the largest and most significant project in the history of modern coastal resiliency in Suffolk County, since the establishment of the Southwest Sewer District – SD #3. The project is designed to address on-site wastewater system (OSWS) failure as it contributes to nitrogen pollution in the following areas: Carlls River, Forge River and Southwest Sewer District - SD #3.

The main objective is to mitigate negative impacts to human life and property, surface waters, and coastal wetlands, associated with onsite wastewater treatment and disposal system failures caused by natural hazards, such as Superstorm Sandy. The Carlls River Watershed and the Forge River Watershed Sewer Projects will bring together premier engineering, construction, and consulting professionals to complete this long overdue coastal resiliency project.

The overall project includes:

• Constructing a new collection system in the Carlls River Watershed, including areas in North Babylon and West Babylon via an extended interceptor, including free connections to residential properties
• Building new collection and conveyance system in the Forge River project area and includes free connections for residential properties.
• Installing service laterals connecting residential parcels in the Southwest Sewer District - SD #3 to existing collection and conveyance systems terminating at Suffolk County’s Bergen Point WWTP

Suffolk County was awarded post-Sandy resiliency grant funding through the NYS Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) to sewer communities along certain river corridors in low-lying areas along without sewers on Suffolk County’s south shore that had been inundated by Super storm Sandy. https://dpw.suffolkcountyny.gov/sccri/

How Was SCCRI Funded?

New York State, in partnership with the federal government, provided over $390 million in funding, including:

• $243 million in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding
• $67 million in Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding
• $59 million from New York State Water Quality and Capital Programs
• $20 million in low-interest loans from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• $4 million from the Empire State Development grant program

This funding enables Suffolk County to make the largest investment in new water quality infrastructure in decades. SCCRI will replace over 5,700 aging cesspools and septic systems with low pressure sewers and lateral connections for residential properties already located in the Southwest Sewer District – SD #3. The aging infrastructure has an adverse effect on water quality and on coastal wetlands that protect communities from damaging storms.

In addition to providing environmental benefits, new sewers will also contribute directly to boosting social, economic, economic and workforce development opportunities in the communities.

• Carll’s River Watershed Sewer
  For complete project information go to: www.cleanwaterforcarllsriver.com
• Forge River Watershed Sewer Project
  For complete project information go to: www.forgewatershedsewers.com/

How Were Communities Selected for the Free Sewer Connections?

Suffolk County evaluated priority areas based on: substandard septic systems and cesspools, small lots, dense populations, depth to groundwater, and travel times for nitrogen-enriched groundwater to enter surface waters.

As a result of the data, two areas were identified as high priority and recommended for the installation of new sewage collection systems: Mastic (Forge River Watershed); North Babylon and West Babylon (Carlls River Watershed).

To find out if your home is eligible to participate in the County’s free sewer connection program, please go to the project website link listed below, and enter your address in the box on the interactive map. Go to: https://cleanwaterforcarllsriver.com/project-map.html

SCCRI FAQS

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What is coastal resiliency?

Coastal resiliency is providing infrastructure for a community to “bounce back” after hazardous events such as hurricanes, coastal storms, and flooding – rather than simply responding to impacts. Suffolk County’s resilience is based on our ability to prevent a short-term hazard event from turning into a long-term community-wide disaster. Our coasts are vulnerable to sea-level rise and heavy storms that result in flooding.

Coastal storms, water inundation, flooding, marine debris, and tsunamis. These are but a few examples of threats to our coastal communities, the economy, and the ecology we depend on. At the same time, we face population growth, expanding community development, and loss of natural resources. All of this is happening in areas near the coast that are also especially exposed to growing threats related to climate and environmental change. Resilience is about adapting to and bouncing back from these changes and challenges.

Source: Oceanservice.noaa.gov

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Post-Sandy coastline damage

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island and over 100,000 homes were deemed severely damaged or destroyed, with another 2,000 deemed uninhabitable. The primary causes of this damage, according to NOAA, were waves and storm surge. Devastation from Super storm Sandy and the risks posed by climate change and sea-level rise justify bold and continuing actions to dramatically improve coastal resiliency in Suffolk County. Poor water quality, especially from nitrogen pollutio n, has reached a near-crisis point in many coastal areas of Long Island. Peer-reviewed science has demonstrated a connection between excess nitrogen pollution and the degradation of the coastal marshland complexes that help protect Long Island’s south shore population centers from storm inundation.

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How will sewers help?

The most effective solution for nitrogen pollution in high-density communities that have individual disposal systems is the installation of sewage collection and treatment systems. Suffolk County has proposed technically sound, large-scale projects to extend sewers to North Babylon and West Babylon to address nitrogen and pathogen pollution in the Carlls River and Great South Bay. The extension of sewers to this area would be an important first step in a comprehensive effort to reduce nitrogen pollution adversely affecting south shore shellfish beds, seagrass, water quality, and resilient marshes. https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/coastal-resiliency-and-water-quality-on-long-island.pdf

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Reasons why outdated septic tanks are poorly affecting our environment

Many of the on-site systems in established communities are more than 40 years old, and as systems have aged, failure rates have increased dramatically, especially in the case where high groundwater conditions exist. As a result of the aging infrastructure issues including the decline in quality of drinking water, loss of wetlands, harmful algae blooms, and further impairing water bodies have increased.

Approximately seventy percent of Suffolk County's 1.5 million residents have an on-site sanitary wastewater treatment and disposal system. These systems are comprised of a septic tank or cesspool for solids, connected to leaching pools to allow clarified water to seep into the ground. Many of the on-site systems in established communities are more than 40 years old, and as systems have aged, failure rates have increased dramatically, especially in the case where high groundwater conditions exist. As a result of the aging infrastructure and the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Suffolk County Comprehensive Water Resources Management plan found the following:

• Gradual decline in quality of drinking water
• Negative trends in quality of drinking water
• Harmful algal blooms and Brown Tides attributed to excessive nutrient loads
• Loss of wetlands is leading to a depleted coastal resiliency
• Nitrification, impaired water bodies, impaired rivers, closed beaches, and devastation of the shellfish industry

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What are the basic components of a public sewer system?

A “public sewer system” includes plastic or iron collection piping with manholes every 300-400 feet to facilitate maintenance. Wastewater is conveyed to the treatment facility by gravity or with the assistance of a pump station. Pumping is required when collection systems are lengthy or changes in topography make “lifting” of sewage necessary. Treatment facilities have screening equipment to capture oversized materials and settling tanks to remove sand and grit. Biological treatment systems reduce the concentrations of pollutants such as nitrogen and organic compounds. Disinfection reduces effluent pathogen levels prior to its discharge to groundwater or into bays and harbors. Pollutant concentrations in wastewater effluent are regulated to protect our drinking water aquifers and coastal waters.

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What other sewer options exist in Suffolk County?

Approximately seventy percent of Suffolk County's 1.5 million residents have an “on-site sanitary wastewater treatment and disposal system.” These systems include a septic tank or cesspool for solids settling, connected to leaching pools to allow clarified water to seep into the ground. Homeowners must periodically pump out their septic tank and less frequently install a new leaching pool once drainage slows down. Many of the on-site systems in established communities are more than 40 years old.

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What is the sewer connection cost for residents?

There will be no cost to homeowners for the equipment, installation of low-pressure sewers, abandonment of existing cesspools and property restoration.

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What is going to be the annual cost to homeowners?

The annual fee will be calculated based on the assessed value of your home. The County has estimated that for the median home value this will be about $530 including Operation and Maintenance (O&M).

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What will happen to the current cesspools?

Active cesspools will be emptied and filled in, in accordance with Suffolk County Department of Health regulations. The County will cover the cost of septic system abandonment and perform restoration of all disturbed areas at no cost to the homeowner.

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Important Project Links

For access to the full environmental report: “Coastal Resiliency and Water Quality in Nassau and Suffolk Counties: Recommended Actions and a Proposed path Forward” Click Here.

To access the “Sewer District No. 3 – Southwest Expansion Feasibility Study” Click Here.

To access information regarding the Forge River Project, Click Here.

To access the “Forge River Nitrogen Reduction Report Sewering of Mastic/Shirley”, go to: Click Here.