Glen Cove may buy used equipment to clear Freon 22 from wells

Faced with the closure of two water wells because of Freon 22 contamination, Glen Cove officials are mulling an emergency purchase of used contaminant-removing equipment to install before water usage spikes this summer.

Woodbury-based D&B Engineers and Architects already is preparing the plans and specifications for a new, custom-built air stripper, D&B senior vice president William Merklin told City Council members at Tuesday night’s council work session. But the earliest that could be ready is the summer of 2019, he said.

Merklin said Melville-based Philip Ross Industries has the shell of a used air stripper that, with the addition of other equipment, could be removing Freon 22 from the two wells by early June.

“You would not be able to supply water for the summer without these two wells,” he said.

The Nassau County Department of Health ordered the closure of one well in November and the other in January after elevated levels of Freon 22 were detected.

Councilman Joseph Capobianco asked why there is no formal bidding process for the equipment purchase and installation.

The city is planning a bid process for the new air stripper, to be installed at a third well, which has been closed since 2011 because of both Freon 22 and structural issues, Mayor Timothy Tenke said. That is estimated to cost about $5 million.

But there is not enough time for the bid process for the used equipment to be online before peak summer water usage, he said.

Merklin told council members that Philip Ross is the only company “I could find who has this equipment already ready.”

The cost to buy the used and new equipment, install it and hook it up to the wells would likely be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Merklin said, adding that the hook-up would be a separate contract.

Tenke said three city water department employees inspected the used air stripper and “they say it’s usable, definitely usable.”

The county health department would have to inspect and approve the temporary air stripper before it can be put in operation, said department spokeswoman Mary Ellen Laurain.

Another option to meet summer demand would be to buy nearby water districts’ water. That cost may be comparable to buying and installing the used air stripper, Tenke said. But there may not be enough excess water available and, even if there is, “what if during the summer one of their wells goes down and we’re relying on them?” he asked.