Suffolk County Water Authority agreement close to final

Weeks after the Town anticipated concluding a 40-year contract with the Suffolk County Water Authority to manage the West Neck Water District system, it appears likely the Supervisor Gerry Siller will be authorized to sign on the dotted line by the end of the month.

The Town would have the authority to pull the plug on the agreement earlier but is not expected to do so. The Town Board also would be notified of any request for SCWA to extend its services to other areas.

SCWA Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations Joe Pokorny has said in the past that the company doesn’t try to impose its services where it’s not wanted.

There was a discussion of some last minute changes in the document at Tuesday’s Town Board work session. Among the most significant was an agreement from SCWA to join the effort to secure grant money to offset what customers will have to pay for up to $1.7 million for infrastructure work prior to the SCWA taking over responsibility for further maintenance.

Mr. Pokorny also promised to make adjustments to a map showing West Neck Water system assets to bring it into line with what actually exists. The concern with a map that is not complete was cited by Lisa Shaw of the West Neck Water Board, who noted there was a time when the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) penalized the system because of a faulty map. Mr. Pokorny said SCWA would take responsibility for the map and if there is any problem with the DEC, the issue would be handled by the company, not West Neck Water customers.

A number of issues had been raised by resident Lori Beard Raymond, and Town Engineer Joe Finora asked Mr. Pokorny to address them. Among them was a question about West Neck Water regulations that effectively would disappear with SCWA regulations taking over. But that doesn’t mean that Town requirements, such as irrigation limitations, would be eliminated. It would just fall to the Town to take actions to enforce those. At the same time, SCWA would prohibit trucks being able to draw water from fire hydrants. Anyone wanting water for irrigation would have to have a separate well for that purpose, not connected to the system SCWA will manage, Mr. Pokorny said.

The new meters to be installed won’t cost customers extra money, but they are part of the infrastructure changes to be undertaken prior to the SCWA maintaining the system.

If a developer asked to be covered by SCWA, the full cost of connections would fall to that developer. But individual customers who might want to become part of  the West Neck area system would pay a lesser cost for connection.

The DEC must approve any plans the SCWA has for the West Neck system and any extension to other areas that might request service. That means there can be no impact on other area wells where SCWA operates. The new restaurant that will be opening in the former Capital One Bank building is to be connected, but Mr. Pokorny said its water needs will be limited and won’t adversely affect other users.

Several speakers praised the economies of scale they said West Neck customers will experience as well as the level of management SCWA is capable of providing.