Centereach, Selden, Coram, Farmingville get millions for sewer work

Commercial corridors in Centereach, Selden, Coram and Farmingville will receive a combined $20 million to advance sewer projects, Suffolk County officials announced Tuesday.

The money will be used to design and get the projects “shovel ready” in anticipation of more funding to complete construction, county officials said at a news conference in Centereach. Deputy Suffolk County Executive Peter Scully said the total estimated cost is $143 million for the Centereach-Selden project, $45 million for Coram and $60 million for Farmingville.

Expanding sewers in Suffolk, where three-quarters of properties are served by outdated cesspools, will improve water quality and spur economic development, County Executive Steve Bellone said.

“We've had decades of decline in water quality because of the lack of wastewater infrastructure and sewer infrastructure,” Bellone said. “We're determined to change that because we know the future of our families and our communities are dependent on that.”

The areas where the projects are located, mostly along Route 25 and Portion Road, are the latest to be funded by the county’s $125 million Wastewater Infrastructure Fund. It was created in the county's 2022 budget with money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, or COVID-19 stimulus package, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

Other projects to receive funding are in Kings Park, Mastic and Patchogue. The most recent was announced Thursday in Smithtown.

“We have been working hard to advance sewer infrastructure all over Suffolk County with more sewer infrastructure under construction right now than has been built in Suffolk County in more than 50 years,” Scully said.     

Scully has said the county could also draw money from the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, which would be funded by a proposed  1/8-cent sales tax increase. The county legislature has until Aug. 4 to vote on putting the tax hike on the November ballot, according to the state political calendar.

No member of the Republican caucus, which controls the legislature 11-7, has publicly said they would support the proposal.

Legis. Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) said he would consider supporting it if the revenue was restricted to its intended purpose. Scully has said the funding would be secure.

“It can never be used for anything but water quality. It can't be used for debt services. It cannot be used for anything other than water protection, including our coastal waterways,” Caracappa said. “That I will not budge on.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.