Pipeline from pine barrens to Southold aims to address stressed North Fork water supply

On sweltering summer mornings, while sprinklers spin atop freshly cut lawns, showers are taken and pools are filled across the North Fork, officials at the Suffolk County Water Authority hold their breath.

Seasonal overpumping, driven by irrigation, puts the agency in the “danger zone” in Southold, officials said, threatening water quality and capacity for emergencies. Water usage in the town has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to data provided by the agency. 

The water authority is proposing a new $35 million pipeline to pump water from the pine barrens north and then northeast to Southold Town on the North Fork as it tries to keep pace with demand. The proposal has sparked debate over conservation and development pressure in the region.

The pipeline, which officials hope to complete by 2030, would stretch 8.5 miles from Flanders in Southampton to the Southold town line, bringing up to 6,000 gallons per minute to boost supply and reduce stress on existing public wells. A second proposed phase would extend public water 3.8 miles from East Marion to Orient, the easternmost tip of the fork. The Suffolk County Water Authority is in the process of conducting an environmental review.

Tensions over the proposal were on full display at a recent community forum in Peconic. There, Southold residents, environmental groups and elected officials said the increased demand for water shows a dire need for conservation — and that supplying it could be a catalyst for development on the North Fork. 

Surging demand at peak summer periods puts stress on the water supply, according to the Suffolk County Water Authority, which serves 9,500 properties in Southold from about 60 shallow wells. Straining the supply puts the wells at risk from saltwater intrusion and other contaminants and places the agency in the “danger zone,” Jeff Szabo, the authority's CEO, said in an interview.

The pipeline would allow water to be pumped from the "South Shore Low Zone" in the Town of Southampton, an area with deeper supply, officials said.

“Every morning, the area I’m concerned about is the North Fork, because when it’s hot … we have every well running,” Szabo said. “Our tanks are draining down to, at times, just a couple of feet.”

But some residents said they worry  increasing supply will fuel a building boom on the North Fork.

“We’re becoming more Hamptons-like,” Anne Murray, an East Marion resident, said in an interview. “I don't know that the North Fork has the infrastructure anymore to support more development, more cars … We can't even support the traffic we have now.”

'Breathing room'

The added availability would give the authority some “breathing room” so there is enough water for emergencies and fire hydrants, Szabo said.

Water authority officials said current demand is outpacing supply. An estimated 70% of water pumped in Southold is used for irrigation, according to the agency. Last July, Southold hit peak demand at about 7.4 million gallons per day, according to data provided by the water authority. That’s a 37% increase from peak daily demand in July 2014, which was about 5.4 million gallons.

Water usage in the town has nearly doubled over the last two decades, according to data provided by the water authority. In 2002, annual total production was just below 700 million gallons, compared with more than 1.3 billion gallons in 2024.

The first phase of the project, the 8.5-mile pipeline, would stretch north from Flanders Road along county Route 105 beneath the Peconic River, continuing northeast along Northville Turnpike and turning east on Sound Avenue.

Work would be scheduled during the offseason and at night to minimize traffic disruptions, said Brendan Warner, the water authority's director of construction.

Water conservation urged

Some Southold residents are urging stricter water conservation tactics to reduce the strain on the aquifer, along with promoting native plants, which require less irrigation than typical lawns.

“If you build it, if you supply more water, it’s just going to get used,” said Jeannette Dumas, of Southold, at the community forum. “I don’t think it’s a long-term, sustainable way to go.”

Southold is considering new regulations on automatic irrigation systems to drive conservation.

Under the proposal, introduced earlier this year, new irrigation systems must be outfitted with rain and moisture sensors to prevent overwatering or water use on rainy days. The proposal also explicitly bans sprinkler heads from facing paved areas such as streets and driveways.

The code sets a three-year grace period for compliance on existing sprinkler systems and exempts agricultural operations including farms and nurseries. A hearing on the proposal will continue at the July 22 town board meeting.

Development threat

Many at the hearing asked the water authority to consider the potential impact on development as a result of the pipeline.

Funding "$35 million in capital improvements is going to demand that there is a return on this investment, and it will not come from a trickle of demand,” said Mark Haubner, of Aquebogue, the president of the North Fork Environmental Council. “It will only come from an increase of single-family residences, condominiums, restaurants, hotels and marinas.”

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said in an interview water availability “definitely enables more development, without a question.” 

Krupski also asked water authority officials to consider how the project could affect Southold's land preservation programs. Availability of water, he said, could increase the value of farmland eyed for preservation and make it more difficult for towns to purchase those properties.

“Resources to fund our preservation efforts are limited, and so anything that increases the value of the land, whether it's open space or farmland, impacts our program," Krupski said at the meeting.

Economic forces, and the enduring popularity of the North Fork as a tourist destination, have put the region under significant development pressure. Southold is currently reviewing its zoning code and considering its first sweeping update since 1989, to modernize land use and balance its rural roots with “thoughtful” growth, according to the town's website.

Hotels have become a particular flashpoint in the debate as the town grapples with proposals for at least five new lodging projects. The town recently extended a moratorium on hotel proposals for another year, citing the need to study the effect those developments could have on traffic, water and other infrastructure amid the broader zoning changes.

Szabo, addressing development concerns, said town zoning controls what can be built and where.

“Pointing the finger at us and believing that … our efforts are going to be detrimental to Southold, I don’t think that’s fair,” he said.

While the pipeline would be rated to handle up to 6,000 gallons per minute, the water authority's deputy CEO Joseph Pokorny said it would rarely run at that peak level.

The plan calls for decommissioning about 12 Suffolk County Water Authority wells in Southold where saltwater has compromised the drinking water supply. Officials said the reduced pumping would help replenish the aquifer.

“If we shut down about a dozen wells because of chloride concentrations being too high to run those wells, we have to replace that water,” Pokorny said.

Next stop, Orient? 

The second phase of the project, the 3.8-mile pipeline, would extend from East Marion to Orient, where residents are served by private wells. Officials cautioned this project is less likely to happen, though some residents say there's an urgent need for it.

Suffolk County Health Department testing has detected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in some of those wells, prompting several Orient residents to voice support for the project to bring potable water to their homes.

Kurt Johnson, of Orient, said a test at his home in April detected the chemicals at 13 parts per trillion — above the state drinking water standard of 10 parts per trillion and the federal limit of 4 ppt set last year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced earlier this year it would postpone the deadline for complying with that limit from 2029 to 2031.

“I can’t drink the water. I can’t shower with the water,” Johnson said at the meeting. “What is it going to take for the Suffolk County Water Authority to get a pipeline out to us before people get sick?”

It's unlikely, officials have said.

The water authority does not currently have a timeline for this portion of the project, which “may never happen,” Szabo said.

That extension would require input from residents in that area who would pay for their hookups, Szabo said.

The potential for that phase is being assessed in the environmental review to avoid “segmentation” under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.  Reviewing the environmental impacts of the phases separately could lead to future lawsuits, according to officials. If a plan has several phases, the agency conducting the review must "jointly consider these cumulative impacts," according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's website.

Dave Kapell, a former Greenport Village mayor, said he supports both phases of the pipeline.

“We would ignore this offer at our own peril,” he said, adding that resisting the project puts emergency services, agriculture and clean drinking water at risk.

The idea the pipeline would spark major development is a “false narrative,” Kapell said during the hearing. “Clean water should not be held hostage to the fear of development.”

Though the project benefits Southold, virtually all of the construction would cut through Riverhead Town, which has its own water district. Warner stressed the project would be a transmission line and no service hookups would occur in Riverhead's territory.

Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard said he plans to meet with the water authority to discuss the project.

“I don’t think we’re going to let it come though the town without a benefit,” Hubbard said, adding his concerns include more traffic during construction.

Riverhead recently hired an environmental consultant to advocate for the town during the environmental review.

"That type of work is definitely going to be disruptive no matter when, where, or how you do it," Hubbard said.