Huntington OKs millions in bonding for water district upgrades

The Town of Huntington has approved spending millions through bonding to improve water quality in the Dix Hills, Greenlawn and South Huntington water districts, with varied impacts on ratepayers.

The money will be used for "critical routine" improvements in all three districts to keep drinking water safe, including by limiting "forever chemicals” such as 1,4-dioxane that have been linked to cancers and other health problems, town and water district officials said.

The Dix Hills Water District will bond $5.6 million. Last year, that district implemented a $120 surcharge on ratepayers to fund infrastructure upgrades and ongoing maintenance, Newsday previously reported. The surcharge is expected to cover the cost of the latest bonding, district Superintendent Dennis T. Kropp said. 

The Greenlawn Water District will bond up to $6 million. The financial impact of that bond has yet to be determined, said John Clark, a commissioner with the district.

The South Huntington Water District will finance $2.4 million through bonds. There will be no increase for ratepayers there, district Commissioner Paul Tonna said.

It’s an ongoing challenge for water districts to keep up with drinking water safety standards, Huntington Town Board member Dave Bennardo said. He said most districts have as many as 10 wells requiring filters that cost millions of dollars.

“There’s no mathematical way to keep up with the cleaning that the water needs unless you bond,” he said. "You can’t pass that cost on to ratepayers all at once.”

The town board voted 5-0 on four resolutions in favor of the bonds at a board meeting last month.

The Greenlawn and South Huntington water districts operate independently of the town and have their own elected commissioners. The town board serves as administrators of the Dix Hills Water District. Bonding must be sought through the town as local water districts are not authorized to issue debt obligations on their own, water district officials said, requiring a vote by the town board on the bonds for all three districts.

The three districts are suing the makers of 1,4-dioxane  in a class-action lawsuit, Newsday previously reported. In July 2020, the state set a maximum allowable level of the chemical as 1 part per billion in drinking water. Last year, stricter allowable levels than the state standard were set by the federal government, Newsday previously reported.

Here's a look at some of the projects targeted by the bonding.

Dix Hills

Plant No. 5 will be redesigned to provide a more efficient, advanced facility, Kropp said. District officials, in collaboration with engineers, found retrofitting the existing structure was not appropriate because of new treatment technology and equipment sizing requirements.

An additional $700,000 in funding will be used for monitoring equipment for the district’s caustic chemical tanks, security and alarm systems, and a utility maintenance trailer, Kropp said. 

The water district serves about 8,400 homes and businesses. Residential customers pay $1,081 annually. Commercial customers pay $15,928 annually. Both sets of customers pay the $120 surcharge implemented last year. 

Greenlawn

The district will bond up to $6 million to go toward projects expected to cost $9.994 million. A new wellhead treatment system will be installed at the district’s Plant No. 5 at the corner of Wicks and Larkfield roads.

The balance will be paid with existing district funds and/or grant funding if available, Clark said. 

The district serves 12,500 customers; 95% of those are residential. Clark said the average customer pays about $340 a year for usage and an $80-per-year surcharge.

He said the financial impact of the bond will be calculated based on how much is ultimately bonded.

Phyllis Austrian, a retired New York City science teacher who has lived in Greenlawn for 39 years, has been an outspoken critic of the district at board meetings over the years about its governance and spending. She said rate increases and bonding are hard on the taxpayer and the district needs to do more in considering those costs.

“They should not be able to make all decisions without consulting with their customers,” she said.

Clark said the district is just keeping up with the maximum contamination limits, or MCL, for wells set by the state.

“New York State is one of the most protective states with regard to drinking water quality,” Clark said. “We’re simply making sure that our wells distribute water to our residents and businesses that meet all the MCLs, whether it’s 1,4-dioxane, PFOS, PFOA or any other volatile organic compounds.”

South Huntington

Tonna said the district will spend $1.2 million to rehabilitate a 1.5 million gallon storage tank at Plant No. 12 near Pidgeon Hill Road. 

The second project, at Plant No. 8 on Wolf Hill Road, is to install an emergency generator.

Tonna said the debt service for this bond is offset by the payoff of prior bond debt, so there will be no increase for ratepayers for these projects.

The district serves about 18,000 ratepayers. The average residential customer pays $202 annually, while commercial customers pay about $923 annually. 

“Water districts across Long Island face many challenges: water quality, water purity, 1,4-dioxane, infrastructure, old mains,” Tonna said. “It’s a lot to keep up with our capital program, but we have to do it and we are.”