Riverhead reaches agreement to connect 64 Manorville homes to public water

 Efforts to connect 64 homes in Manorville affected by potentially dangerous toxins to public water are one step closer to fruition after Riverhead officials agreed to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Suffolk County Water Authority on a water improvement project for the area.

Riverhead’s Town Board voted 5-0 at their Sept. 7 meeting to enter into the agreement to connect homes in the south Manorville area to public water. Nearly 15% of private wells of nearly property owners in the affected areas — located near the former Grumman naval weapons facility in Calverton — were found to have traces of perflourinated compounds by the Suffolk County Health Department in 2020. Such compounds have been linked to reproductive and thyroid cancer, as well as other health complications.

As part of the agreement, both the town and the county agency agreed to submit separate grants for the New York State Water Infrastructure Improvement Act to help pay for the water project, estimated to cost upward of $9.4 million. The deadline to submit grant applications to the state was Sept. 9. Both town and agency officials say the separate applications are so they can give residents in the affected areas the best chance to receive grant funding.

Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said the town and agency working together would save money for town taxpayers.

“Any funding that comes from Riverhead will be provided to them, any funding they get will go to the project and this will also reduce the cost to our taxpayers that are not affected by the Manorville water situation, and that was the goal and intention,” Aguiar said.

The agreement states the Suffolk Water Authority would transfer ownership of the water improvement project to the Riverhead Water District after it is completed. The agency would be allowed, upon request of the district, to continue to supply water to the area until the district develops its own water supply for the extension area that is approved and permitted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Jeffrey Szabo, CEO of the Suffolk County Water Authority, told Newsday that the agency is currently reviewing the agreement, but his outlook was positive.

“It’s a significant step in the right direction for sure. The town has been extremely accessible, and we’ve had a very good working relationship in the last several months. As far as the agreement that they adopted yesterday, that is something we are still reviewing, and we plan to upon completion have further discussions with Riverhead,” Szabo said.