Proposal to study sewer system in Suffolk

A Suffolk County legislator is proposing a blue-ribbon panel to study whether Suffolk should create a single sewer district to operate disparate systems that now serve about 30 percent of the county.

Legis. Wayne Horsley (D-Babylon), chairman of the economic development committee, is proposing a 13-member panel that would report within 180 days on how a mega-sewer district could be implemented and whether it would cut costs, spur extra state or federal aid or boost new business. The district would include the 24 districts Suffolk now runs, municipal districts serving communities such as Northport and Greenport and all future systems.

A single district could "create economies of scale that would bring down the cost" of sewer expansion to new areas, Horsley said. "Right now, any time you start to bring up the price to homeowners and businesses, there is a sticker shock and they say, 'My cesspools are looking pretty good,' " he said.

Sewer expansions largely have been hamstrung in recent years as federal and state aid, which once paid nearly 90 percent of construction costs, has dried up.

Currently, the county operates systems ranging from the Southwest Sewer District, which serves more than 70,000 homes in Islip and Babylon, to smaller districts serving industrial and residential developments. Overall, sewers serve about 30 percent of the county, while the remaining 70 percent relies on cesspools, Horsley said.

Legis. Edward Romaine (R-Center Moriches) warned that existing county sewer districts with different tax rates could be difficult to combine into a district with a single tax rate. He also noted that the Southwest Sewer District needs to replace its outfall pipe, a huge project that would cost $150 million. "If it means rate increases for some districts, it's not a healthy thing," he said.

The lawmaker's proposal comes at a time when the county already is exploring expansion of the Southwest Sewer District to include the northern parts of Babylon and Islip.

Horsley said creation of a single mega-district likely would require a voter referendum.