Massapequa Water District to borrow $15M for upgrades

The Town of Oyster Bay has approved a $15 million bond for the Massapequa Water District that will fund a series of infrastructure projects.

The 30-year bond will be paid by ratepayers in the district, which has nine wells across four plant sites and serves about 43,000 residents. 

The $15 million will be used to pay for new piping, filtration and other upgrades, Steven Mira, a senior project engineer for H2M representing the water district, told the town board at a recent meeting. 

The spending includes $10.4 million to replace 15,500 feet of water mains; $2.9 million to install a new iron removal vessel for one well; and $1.2 million for station improvements across plant sites, Mira said.

He said the water mains “are nearing the end of their useful life” and can break down more easily. A district well on Ocean Avenue has elevated iron levels and needs a permanent system to keep it in service. The station upgrades will include pump repairs, electrical fixes and piping modifications, which are periodically needed as the equipment wears down, he added.

Kevin Reilly, superintendent of the water district, said in an interview that about 3,000 of the 15,500 feet of water main replacement has already been replaced. The funding will let the water district continue that project without having to do the work in smaller phases. 

At the Ocean Avenue well, used during times of high demand, iron levels are rising. Since water use in Massapequa has also climbed, Reilly said he wants to have the well available as a backup.

“It’s an insurance policy for us that if one of our other wells happens to need work, or fails, we are able to use that without having to cause any real disruption,” Reilly said.

Reilly said the cost of the bond to ratepayers was not immediately available.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ