Residents Talk Sewer District Study

Scores of residents turned out Monday night in Flanders to discuss a study that would evaluate the cost and impacts of a that could help revitalization efforts locally.

The purpose of the study is to identify infrastructure required to provide a sanitary system for the study area, along with an analysis of costs and benefits.

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, county representatives and consultants Camp, Dresser & McKee and H2M were onhand at the David W. Crohan Community Center to discuss the parameters of the Flanders Riverside Corridor Sewering Feasiblity Study, commissioned by Suffolk County for $250,000. 

The borders of the proposed study area have narrowed cr. And the study, if commissioned, will focus on commercial properties to start, with residential communities having the option to ask to be included in the study area.

With boarded up stores and a lack of new business in the Route 24 area, Schneiderman said the impediment to revitalizaton is a lack of sewers. "There's only so much you can do on a piece of property before you reach a limit on waste," he said. "We want to work with the community to come up with a vision for what the area might look like. A lot of these ideas cannot happen without sewers."

He added that Route 24 would benefit from sewering. "I would love to see that corridor with every storefront filled, people walking, and a beautiful streetscape."

Potential projects for the area include an indoor sports complex with a pool, Schneiderman said.

Throne-Holst and Schneiderman emphasized that only a study is being discussed at this point -- and community input is critical, with the public playing a part in the decision-making process. No new sewer district woud be implemented without community support, and careful review of what the financial impacts of such a district would mean to taxpayers, Throne-Holst said.

Nanette Vignola-Henry, environmental scientist for CDM, outined the original proposed study area and the smaller project presented currently. 

Three potential sewer treatment plant sites were identified, on land that is either county or town owned. One potential site would be located across the street from MacLeod Communities, a trailer park on Riverleigh Avenue. Representatives of that community were concerned with how the facility would smell and sound.

Jill Ponchitera of the MacLeod's Civic Association asked if there was significant "smell" associated with the sewage treatment plant.

Frank Russo of H2M said there are odors, but there are odor controls built in to the project. "Does it occasionally burp?" he said. "Yes."

Ponchitera asked how often; Russo responded waste treatment is a biological process that uses bacteria to metabolize waste, but there are provisions to address odor. "As with any organic process, you can have an upset stomach. It's like taking Pepto-Bismol," he said. He added that such incidents happened infrequently. "If it happens once a year, it's a lot," he said.

He added noise was inevitable but the goal was to be a good neighbor.

Ponchitera asked why sewage treatment facilies had to be sited near a community and not farmland.

The closer a facility is located to property, the less costly a conveyance system is, Russo added.

Other questions involved buffering; setbacks would be included into the plan, representatives of CDM said.

Initially, the plan called for development of a new Main Street, but now the Route 24 corridor is being considered as an area to generate new business. Another possibility is an affordable housing component, that would be located south of the state police barracks on Riverleigh Avenue.

All together, with housing, commercial space, and the county center, an estimated flow of 300,000 gallons per day would be treated; a treatment plant to handle that capacity would need to be approximately 5 to 8 acres in size.

Also to be decided is a method to convey flow for treatment; low pressure sewers were proposed for the area, which has a low water table and is environmentally sensitive.

Community members asked if the treatment plant would allow for future expansion; Schneiderman said they would, and Throne-Holst added if communities including Bay View Pines wanted to be included in the study, they should express interest soon.

One resident asked why the county center was included as a potential sewage treatment site. Schneideran said currenty, sewage gets pumped from the county center to the Riverhead sewage treatment site, which is reaching capacity. 

FRNCA president Brad Bender said creation of a new sewage treament site at the county center in Riverside would allow Riverhead greater capacity and lead to the possibility for even more development of Riverhead's downtown area.

Other residents expressed environmental concerns.

"Our community is econonicallly depressed," Bender concluded. "We can't redevelop because our commercial base has no ability to sewer itself. The first thng we have to do is offer infrastructure and sewering."

And, he said, environmental concerns faced by homeowners strapped with aging septic systems also need attention.

Schneiderman said a phased approach was possible and added the project would not be able to proceed without federal, state or county funds or grants. "If it's just on the taxpayer, the numbers don't add up," he said.

Even with the green light, Suffolk County Commissioner of the Department of Public Works Gil Anderson predicted it could take five to seven years for the project to commence, preceded by a public vote on the initiative. "This is the first step," he said. "We're not looking to shove sewers down anyone's throat. we want it to be a community buy-in."