Brookhaven to install $200G sewage treatment system at Cedar Beach park in Mount Sinai

Brookhaven Town is readying a $200,000 effort to replace pollution-spewing cesspools at a Mount Sinai park with a more environmentally friendly septic system, officials said.

The town this fall will begin installing a sewage system at Cedar Beach that uses an advanced technology that officials say is cleaner than outdated cesspools. 

Unlike cesspools and older sewage systems, the new system uses ammonia and bacteria to convert waste into nitrogen gas, which is safely released into the air. 

Suffolk is kicking in $100,000 from its Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program for the project, County Executive Edward P. Romaine announced last week, with Brookhaven borrowing $100,000 to match the county grant. 

“This is another important project that will help improve water quality and preserve our natural beauty," Romaine said.

The septic system will collect and treat wastewater from restrooms at the park, which includes two beaches, basketball courts, a playground, a marina and a nature center with touch tanks and interactive displays, Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner said.

Cedar Beach was "a logical place" to install the system because it rests on a peninsula sitting between Long Island Sound and Mount Sinai Harbor, she said.

"Cedar Beach is a popular location and destination” that also includes a shellfish hatchery, walking trails, a fishing pier and boat launch ramps, Bonner said. “We just thought it was a logical solution to treat the water so it has the least impact on the Long Island Sound.”

The beach has been prone to severe runoff and is frequently closed following storms due to high bacteria levels, said Brad Arrington, president of the Mount Sinai Civic Association, adding that preserving the harbor “is very important for members of our community.”

“The civic association appreciates the Town of Brookhaven taking action to improve the water quality,” he said.

Officials said the new system will cut the amount of nitrogen from untreated wastewater seeping into the harbor and the Sound. Excessive nitrogen has been found to cause algae blooms, which cut off oxygen for wildlife and underwater plants, experts say.

County Legis. Steve Englebright, a geologist and biologist, said the septic system should produce “an almost immediate benefit" to both bodies of water. Cedar Beach is especially vulnerable to water pollution because nitrogen passes quickly through sand — about 1 foot per day, compared with 1 foot per century in thicker inland soil, he said.

“You can measure the positive changes inside of the same year that the installation occurs,” said Englebright (D-Setauket).

Suffolk officials also hope the Mount Sinai project helps them to promote a November referendum that would fund new sewers and sanitary systems.

The referendum asks residents to approve a sales tax increase of one-eighth of 1% — or about 12½ cents on a $100 purchase — to fund about $4 billion in sewer and septic projects over 50 years, Suffolk officials said.

“I think it’s a good idea to showcase ... what [the new system] can do for the cleanliness of the rest of the harbor,” Englebright said.