Meeting to discuss sewer expansion in Islip, Babylon towns

A public meeting will be held Wednesday to discuss the latest developments on a possible sewer expansion into parts of Babylon and Islip towns.

A final feasibility report that examines expanding sewer coverage is expected to be discussed at the meeting. The report comes from a study commissioned by Suffolk County to look into bringing sewers to the parts of six communities north of the Southern State Parkway that are not connected to the Southwest Sewer District: Wyandanch, Wheatley Heights, Deer Park, West Babylon, North Babylon and West Islip.

On hand at the meeting will be representatives from the Suffolk Department of Public Works and contractors for the project. They will discuss the status of the expansion project and plans.

In a preliminary report released in July, it was estimated that without additional funding, the cost to put sewers in these areas would be more than $2 billion. Narrowing it to the five neighborhoods most in need -- all in North Babylon and Wyandanch -- would cost $861 million, the report stated. Priority was given based on a scoring system with the most weight given to parcel density and depth to groundwater.

The final feasibility report is available online at swsuffolksewers.org.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Babylon Town Hall Annex in North Babylon.