Islip Board Approves Sewer Plant Feasibility Study Contract

Islip Town officials have approved a $199,378 contract agreement for a engineering feasibility study on establishing a sewer district for the communities of Bayport, Sayville, West Sayville, Oakdale and Great River.

The study, to be conducted by P.W. Grosser Consulting, a Bohemia firm, is one of the initial steps toward creating a sewer district that lawmakers believe is needed to protect the Great South Bay as well as stimulate local business development.

Town lawmakers say study will examine the effectiveness of public and private sewage plants in other locations and what scenarios would work best in the specified areas.

According to Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino’s office lawmakers are mulling several potential sites but no one specific location has yet been determined.

The feasibility study will include assessing those potential sites, according to Garbarino’s office, and will be partly funded by state and federal funding available to areas where sewer districts are recommended.

The low water table in the Oakdale-Sayville vicinity has put the communities on the top 10 list of potential sewer projects in the state, according to Garbarino, and the project is eligible for state funding and federal grants for the planning aspect. 

Garbarino discussed the development of a sewer district for south shore communities, between Bayport and Great River, at a Bayport Civic Association in late September. He said funding had been secured to conduct a planning study and potential sites were being evaluated.

The sewer district proposal is a collaborative effort by state and Town of Islip officials, noted Garbarino.

If all goes as scheduled, he said, public comment on the project could happen next Spring and a required public vote could be held by the end of 2014.

“This is the furthest a sewer district project has ever gotten for our south shore,” he said at the Sept. 19 civic meeting, adding that it would be a benefit for local business downtown areas, residents and the water quality of the Great South Bay.

“This [a sewer district] allows you to do more with your property, and it helps chambers draw in more businesses and it raises property values,” he said at the civic meeting, noting that current Suffolk County health department building regulations on current cesspool systems can be a huge hindrance to property owners and in enticing new business.

If built, residents and businesses have the option of joining the district and hooking up to the system, said Garbarino. 

Sewer district members would pay a fee for use, he added. How much that fee would be won’t be determined until the project scope and costs of the build are mapped out, he explained.

Town leaders state treatment plants are particularly useful in downtown districts as they support more density, allowing for a variety of businesses to operate while increasing service.  Plants can also vastly improve the sewage that goes into the ground water, and ultimately, into the Great South Bay.  Sewage treatment also reduces harmful nitrates from polluting Long Island’s drinking water and aquatic life, according to a town release on the project issued today.

“Having a sewage treatment plant opens up many possibilities in downtown areas,” said Garbarino, a NYS partner to the project, in the statement.  “There are so many vacancies on Main Streets, because business owners are limited to what they can open. “

Once completed, the engineering study will be submitted to New York State for review and determination if a municipal sewage treatment plant is viable in the designated communities, and if funding is available to support the project.