A Suffolk County sand dredge being used in recent weeks to fortify the dune along Dune Road in Hampton Bays may have damaged a Hampton Bays Water District main that runs underwater through Shinnecock Bay, supplying water to the east end of Dune Road in Hampton Bays.
Officials have been reluctant so far to firmly cite the dredge as the culprit, or to say exactly what caused the damage to the water main, but they did note that it was a possibility.
By Tuesday afternoon, divers were conducting video and visual surveys of the water main break about 15 feet underwater in the navigable channel of Shinnecock Bay. The 8-inch main runs 15 feet underwater, from the north side to the south side of the Old Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays. It serves the east end of Dune Road, near the Shinnecock Commercial Fishing Docks.
Stephanie Oakland, an owner of Oakland’s and Sundays on the Bay, reported that she went into work on Monday morning and discovered there was no water. “Everybody called at the same time,” she said after reporting the issue to the Hampton Bays Water District at around 10:30 that morning.
Oakland’s was already closed for the season, but Sundays on the Bay is open seven days a week, ordinarily. It will be closed until the water main is repaired and water sample tests are satisfactory.
She said she’s asked officials if they could hurry the testing “a little more” so Sundays might be able to open on Thursday, rather than Friday, as officials have estimated, when a temporary pipe can be installed.
Walter Britton of East End Dive Service explained his divers were working from a Sea Tow vessel moored at the site. “We’re still trying to see the extent of the damage,” he said, noting that although there’s less than 2 feet of visibility, the ends of the pipe are offset in such a way that “it appears it was dragged.”
The team from East End Dive Service set up marker buoys so they can locate the break in the coming days. There’s a “tremendous amount of current” at the site, Mr. Britton noted. Two divers will use a “down line” to get from the Sea Tow craft to the pipe. Over the next several days, Mr. Britton said, East End Dive Service will bring its own vessel to the site as well.
The water district expects to get a temporary pipe installed by Friday, with repairs to the main taking place over the next several weeks, depending on weather and availability of parts. Cost estimates for the repairs should be available by the end of the week, according to a release from Southampton Town officials.
Asked if the county dredge could be the culprit, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said, “We don’t know yet. It’s a possibility.” He said the town will be investigating further.
The barrier beach near the water main break has been beset by erosion and several washovers for the past two months. The county dredge has been working to pull sand up to replenish the beach on the ocean side, with Dune Road closed off periodically.
Of the possibility of the dredge causing the damage, Ms. Oakland said, “They were there to help us … it’s almost comical, actually.”
