The Westhampton Beach Village Board took another step this week in its long journey to eventually install a sewer district in the downtown area.
On Monday, the Suffolk County Sewer Agency approved the village’s request to reserve 50,000 gallons of daily sewage capacity at the Francis S. Gabreski Airport sewage treatment facility.
Because the village has not yet had a formal review of its plan to ensure that it is in accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, the agency’s approval is only for “conceptual capacity,” meaning the village could not actually hook up to the system without getting additional approval from the agency.
The Village Board voted in March to authorize Mayor Maria Moore to make the request to reserve the sewage capacity in case Westhampton Beach eventually opts to link up to the county system. Previously, the mayor and board members have said that the space would be needed to allow new restaurants to open on Main Street while also providing additional protection to nearby Moniebogue Bay.
Ms. Moore wrote in an email this week that securing the capacity was simply a preliminary step in the process, adding that the village would need to consider costs, available funding and community input before making a final decision on whether or not to move forward with the hook-up.
The village’s next step will be to seek bids from engineering firms, and have a map and plan drafted to detail how it would go about connecting to the county system, according to Ms. Moore. The village also needs to learn where sewer lines and pump stations would have to be installed, as well as how much the project would cost overall.
In addition to covering installation fees, which are unknown at this time, the village would have to pay a one-time fee of $1.5 million—or $30 per gallon of sewage space it wants to reserve—to hook up to the system.
Currently, the county facility can handle up to 100,000 gallons of sewage a day. Suffolk officials, however, are now considering expanding the facility’s capacity so it can handle up to 150,000 gallons daily.
Once the village selects a bid for the sewer map and plan, Ms. Moore said the board will go to the county to seek help to pay for them.
Kyle Campbell on Jul 14, 2015