Officials laud $5M state grant to help convert Manhasset businesses to public sewer system

A project to convert the private septic tanks of several dozen businesses on Plandome Road in Manhasset to a public sewer system received a “shot in the arm” after $5 million in state funds was allocated to advance the initiative, officials said.

Assemb. Gina Sillitti (D-Manorhaven), who has pushed for the funding, said the money is secured in the state budget under the Department of Environmental Conservation’s capital projects section.

“I’m really excited to bring these funds for this project,” Sillitti said. “Hopefully it will bring a downtown revival to Plandome Road and of course the environmental protection that Manhasset and that whole region needs. I feel like it’s going more from conceptual to reality with this money.”

For several years, businesses along the roadway have expressed concerns about the high cost of maintaining their septic tanks, with some business owners saying they paid more than $50,000 a year or must have their tanks pumped weekly. Robert Donno, a Manhasset Chamber of Commerce committee member, said the chamber has more than 1,800 signatures from business owners and residents who support the conversion to public sewers.

“It would help keep the businesses alive that are there and perhaps change the influx of businesses into the Plandome Road area,” Donno said. “A healthy business district adds value to the community.”

In 2020, the results of a $200,000 feasibility study, conducted by Woodbury-based Cameron Engineering, estimated the cost to install the low-pressure sewer system will run about $12 million for about 80 businesses and building owners on Plandome Road.

Christopher Murphy, superintendent of the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, said the low-pressure sewer system is the most cost-effective choice, compared to the conventional gravity alternative at an estimated $16 million. He said the sewer system will also have the least disruptive installation. The conventional gravity alternative consists of a large network of underground pipes that transports wastewater from individual households to a treatment facility using gravity instead of pressure.

“Anything the residents can get to offset the cost is a win,” Murphy said. “Taking that sewage out of the ground and conveying it to a treatment plant, where we could then treat it to the point where it’s basically water and then putting it back into the [Manhasset] bay clean and treated and oxygenated, it’s a really big environmental benefit.” 

He said an engineering report needs to be conducted in addition to a construction timeline and an environmental review.

North Hempstead officials said they are dedicated to pushing the project forward.

“These residents and businesses have had to rely on septic tanks for over 50 years, and I am committed to supporting their desire to connect to the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District,” Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, a Republican, said in a statement. “This would not only alleviate a financial burden for them, but also make great strides in protecting Manhasset Bay from nitrogen flowing into parts of the bay."

Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey, a Democrat whose district covers Manhasset, echoed  DeSena’s sentiment, and said in a statement that the project will help “alleviate the burden on residents and commercial establishments and will be a help to Manhasset’s downtown.”