$5M grant will help bring safe water to Calverton homes 

Nearly 100 homes in Calverton are a step closer to being connected to public water with the award of a $5 million grant nearly a year after testing by the county showed the presence of chemical contaminants in area well water.

The Suffolk County Water Authority will receive the federal funding to connect 98 homes in Calverton whose water supply is impacted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, the agency announced Monday.

The project, an extension of efforts to hook up 64 Manorville homes to public water, includes adding 21,000 feet of water main to supply the homes near South River Road in Calverton, which presently use well water.

In February, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services initiated an investigation of that Calverton area for PFAS contamination and found the contaminants in more than 80% of wells tested.

More than half the wells tested had levels that exceeded the state standard of 10 parts per trillion, with some as high as 18 times the standard, officials said.

The substances are a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stain, grease and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That federal agency says many of those chemicals are a concern because they don’t break down in the environment and can move through soils and contaminate drinking water and also build up in fish and wildlife.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will administer the grant, part of the federal omnibus bill President Joe Biden signed Dec. 27 after sponsorship by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley).

Schumer said in a statement to Newsday that by passing the federal budget, “we did a lot of good things for Long Island that will improve lives and propel local projects, and this is one great, crystal clear example.”

Construction work on the $6.8 million South River Road project is expected to take three months, according to Dan Dubois, the water authority's external affairs director. As for the remaining $1.8 million, Dubois said the agency is looking into applying for other potential funding.

He said the water authority first will have to finish connecting the 64 Manorville homes to public water — expected by the third quarter of 2023.

Brendan Warner, the water authority's construction and maintenance director, added that with the aid of earlier funding from Congress and the EPA, the agency can connect more than 200 homes in the area to a public supply and deliver safe drinking water.

Patrick Halpin, the water authority’s board chairman, said the agency was “deeply grateful” to elected officials for the funding.

“The cost for these homes to connect to SCWA would be enormous without federal assistance and in many cases would be prohibitive,” Halpin added.

Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine said the grant would ensure residents at Peconic Lake Estates in Calverton will have safe, affordable public water — something he said "everyone has the right to have access to."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of when Suffolk officials expect 64 Manorville homes to be connected to the public water supply.