The Suffolk County Department of Health Services is accepting applications from mobile home communities in the Peconic Estuary groundwater watershed to have an advanced wastewater treatment system installed.
The winning community will receive the treatment system through a $1.4 million grant, leaving the community responsible only for the cost of operating and maintaining the system. According to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the project will remove up to 1,343 pounds of nitrogen each year depending on which mobile home park is selected.
There are 19 mobile home communities that could be eligible, including two in Riverside—MacLeod Communities and Riverhead Trailer, both located on Riverleigh Avenue.
“This project will protect the Peconic Estuary by replacing older septic systems or cesspools which leach nitrogen directly into our water with an advanced system which treats these pollutants,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in a press release this week. “Our residents understand the need to replace old systems through our Reclaim Our Water Initiative, because our region is dependent on it.”
The goal of Mr. Bellone’s Reclaim Our Water Initiative is, in part, to limit the amount of pollution county residents put into the water. Through the initiative, the county is already testing advanced septic systems at Meschutt Beach in Hampton Bays, in wetlands, and at 19 homes, including one on Indian Run in East Quogue. Now, the county is working to add mobile home communities to that list.
“Clean water plays a significant factor [in] our local economy, our tourism, our environment and our quality of life,” Mr. Bellone continued. “With the new mobile and manufactured home portion being incorporated into the program, we will continue to make significant progress in reducing our nitrogen pollution.”
To be selected to have an advanced wastewater treatment system installed, the mobile park must be served by public water, already have a septic system or cesspool, cannot be connected to a sewer or be located within a sewer district, have year-round residents, and be within the Peconic Estuary—which includes parts of Brookhaven Town and most of the North and South forks.
To apply, mobile park owners can download the application at http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Portals/0/planning/sewer/MobileHomeWWTPApplication3-17-2016.pdf or send an email to septicdemo@suffolkcountyny.gov.
The deadline for sending in applications is April 22.
Amanda Bernocco on Apr 3, 2016