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Homeowners in Suffolk County have been in the fortuitous position of enjoying an uninterrupted supply of public water at relatively low rates. But rising costs and the need for infrastructure improvements soon may result in higher rates, especially for very large water users of the type often seen on the South Fork.
The Suffolk County Water Authority has released its 10-year strategic plan, which addresses future needs of the company and its customers. CEO Jeff Szabo and General Counsel, Timothy J. Hopkins discussed their initiatives with The Press this week.
“We suspect that rates will need to increase,” Mr. Szabo predicted. Over the last few years, rates have gone up about 4 percent each year, which ends up being a difference of only about $1 for the average customer.
Customers pay a basic service charge of between $20 and $30, along with a charge of around $1.70 per thousand gallons every quarter. On average, they pay $360 a year and use about 160,000 gallons annually. “We call it a dollar a day,” added Mr. Hopkins.
However, the SCWA anticipates larger expenses in the near future.
“We suspect over the next 10 years we will likely spend $1 billion in infrastructure improvements,” said Mr. Szabo, noting that the water authority has 6,000 miles of aging water mains. “If you look at our typical annual capital budget, it ranges from about $66 million to about $72 million,” he said. These funds go toward replacing and expanding water mains, constructing elevated storage tanks, installing drinking water wells, and treating and testing water, especially as customer use intensifies.
With this in mind, the utility is “creatively” exploring its options, although Mr. Szabo and Mr. Hopkins said it was too early to say how much rates might increase.
“One of the things we’ll probably consider is having a tiered grid, so that if you use over a certain number of gallons, you have maybe a higher rate when you get to that level,” said Mr. Hopkins.
The SCWA board will vote on the rate increase next year.
The utility is also looking at how to adjust human behavior when it comes to water consumption. On the East End, the greatest use occurs in the summer, between June and September, and the biggest drains on the system are in the early morning hours when people are watering their lawns and taking showers. The former is particularly impactful on the system, and the water authority will work to raise awareness of the importance of staggering irrigation shifts.
“Instead of everyone watering between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., have some people water at, say, 10 p.m. the night before … that makes it easier for us to supply, and we won’t have to install as many wells, because we won’t have that instantaneous need,” said Mr. Hopkins. The cost to install a new well is approximately $500,000, he added.
Other initiatives include trying to convert private well users. “Most people on private wells in Suffolk County are on the East End,” said Mr. Szabo, estimating that there are about 80,000 individuals and 60,000 wells in the area. “Some of those folks have a water main in front of their home and just have never connected.”
The water authority will offer these residents free well testing and “attractive” financing options to offset the cost of tapping. “We’re not fully confident that people with private wells test their water annually,” said Mr. Szabo. “And that’s something to be concerned about.”
In fact, localized water quality contamination is an ongoing problem being addressed. The SCWA tests for 374 contaminants, 149 more contaminants than they are required to by federal law. They have 588 active wells throughout the county, 97 of which are on the East End. While western Suffolk sees more industry-related contamination, such as solvents, eastern Suffolk sees a greater contamination from the historical use of agricultural chemicals, especially on the North Fork.
“There hasn’t been farming in a lot of the North Fork area for decades, but we’re still feeling the effects of the nitrates that they loaded into the soil in the ’30s and ’40s,” Mr. Hopkins said.
Nitrates are very difficult and more expensive to treat. Treating solvents, for example, costs 20 cents per thousand gallons, while treating nitrates costs between $3 and $3.50 per thousand gallons.
“I know people don’t like to see when farms are converted into residential developments and golf courses, but often that’s less of an impact to us,” said Mr. Hopkins. This is, in part, due to the fact that farmers pour nitrates and pesticides onto bare soil, while residents and golf courses are often putting the chemicals onto lawns where there is root uptake, which absorbs some of it.
As part of its 10-year plan, the water authority will work on developing new treatment methods for emerging contaminants. Its officials also intend to assess the vulnerability of critical facilities; fully transition to a more efficient automated meter reading technology; and improve customer service, among other initiatives.
on Nov 20, 2015