Securing the North Fork's water future

The Suffolk County Water Authority faces challenges across its service territory. However, none is more significant than water availability in the Town of Southold. Here, supply constraints are defined by geography: Drinking water comes solely from the Upper Glacial aquifer, a shallow freshwater bubble surrounded by saltwater.

In Southold, demand continues to increase and water produced by wells on the North Fork can barely keep up. Even though SCWA has implemented tiered rates, banned open-loop geothermal systems, provided more than $700,000 in customer credits for water-saving devices, and repeatedly urged towns to adopt and enforce odd/even lawn watering schedules, conservation alone cannot bridge this gap.

Over the past several months, the North Fork has experienced drought conditions, resulting in declining groundwater levels. Combined with more pumping in the region, this has caused rising salinity levels.

Drilling more supply wells is not a viable long-term solution in Southold. The shallow aquifer is subject to surface contamination, with wells already requiring treatment for pesticides, herbicides and forever chemicals. More critically, increased pumping pulls chlorides deeper into the freshwater zone. Saltwater intrusion is actively rising.

To protect the local groundwater system and ensure water security, SCWA developed the North Fork Water Main Project that will connect existing infrastructure to move excess capacity from Southampton to the Southold Town line. Water will be sourced across 33 existing wells, meaning no new wells will be drilled.

The pipeline delivers several critical benefits. Importing water relieves stress on the local shallow wells no matter who relies on them. Decreasing pumping protects the water table, enabling local farms to irrigate without accelerating saltwater intrusion.

Water brought in from outside the local system recharges the North Fork’s shallow groundwater. Water pressure across the North Fork will stabilize, ensuring fire departments have the necessary flow during emergencies.

There has been much discussion over public water’s role in Southold’s development. SCWA’s role is singular — to provide our customers with reliable access to high-quality water. It is the responsibility of the towns to shape their vision for future development. Artificially restricting access to safe drinking water so that they don’t have to do their jobs is irresponsible. Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi recently told residents, “Clean water should be a human right in my opinion, and it is up to elected leaders like myself along with our Village and Town Boards to properly manage growth through zoning and water conservation laws.”

Public input has actively shaped this project. After hearing concerns in extensive meetings with Southampton, Southold and Riverhead residents and officials, SCWA redesigned the route. Rather than using Sound Avenue, the preferred alternative follows Main Road. This shift eliminates one mile of pipeline, removes the need for an additional booster station, reduces traffic disruption and lowers the project cost from $35 million to $25 million. That cost is fully budgeted within SCWA’s capital program. We will also seek grant funding to offset capital expenditures.

SCWA regularly installs roughly 20 miles of main piping each year, and construction schedules will avoid road closures during the peak fall season. There will be no customer tie-ins along the transit line through Riverhead.

Long-term drinking water management requires decisions before a crisis occurs. This project protects the aquifer, supports the agricultural economy and ensures North Fork residents have safe, reliable water for decades to come.