County Approves Advanced Septic System Tested In East Quogue

An East Quogue family was among the first in the county to test a state-of-the-art septic system that was approved this week by Suffolk County.

The new septic system, called Hydro-Action, discharges wastewater containing less than 19 milliliters of nitrogen per liter, which is slightly less than the current county standard for traditional cesspools. It features two septic tanks—one filters waste, while the second introduces microorganisms that eat up nitrogen—and with proper maintenance last forever, according to the manufacturer, Septic Systems Inc. of Illinois. The system costs approximately $15,000 to be installed, which the county paid.

Most systems now in the ground, included the antiquated system that had been at the house in East Quogue, which was near a water body, leave significantly more nitrogen in groundwater.

“This is yet another victory for all of us in Suffolk County and is a true indication that we are committed to reducing nitrogen levels in our waters. In the past few weeks, we have taken several steps forward to ensure that clean water will continue to be a top priority.” County Executive Steve Bellone said in a press release.

“We are extremely grateful to the 39 homeowners who are currently participating in the septic demonstration program,” he said. “Their participation has been essential in achieving this step, and we anticipate that additional treatment systems will approved by the end of the year for provisional use.”

The family, who live on Indian Run in East Quogue and could not be reached for an interview, were selected in a lottery to have the system installed at no cost last November. They also receive monitoring and maintenance for the first five years of use.

The Hydro-Action system was among four types tested in residential homes throughout the county—including Norweco, which is manufactured by Norwalk Wastewater Equipment Company Inc. in Ohio; Orenco, manufactured by Orenco Wastewater Solutions in Oregon; and Busse, manufactured by Green Technologies Inc. in Illinois.

Vanessa Baird-Streeter, a county spokesperson, said at least one of the other systems could be approved by the end of the year, depending on how they continue to test.