New York Construction Report staff writer
Suffolk County officials recently announced $28 million for an additional sewer expansion in the tri-hamlet community. Grants will come from the Suffolk County Water Infrastructure Fund, including $20 million for design and construction of the sewer infrastructure for the Mastic Beach downtown business district and $8 million to fund the design of phases 3 and 4 of the Forge River sewer project which is currently under construction.
“The sewer expansion is vital to the economic and environmental future of Mastic, Mastic Beach, Shirley and the Forge River, said Supervisor Romaine said. “Tri-Hamlet residents and business owners can be confident that a brighter future is ahead for their community.”
The Forge River Watershed Sewer District, which will connect 1,889 homes to a new treatment plant to be built in Mastic, is part of the larger Suffolk County Coastal Resiliency Initiative that began in November – a $400 million sewer expansion comprised of three individual sewer projects to connect 5,755 homes to sewers, eliminating the cesspools and septic systems that have been identified by scientists as the primary source of the nitrogen that is polluting local waterways.
It will also enable businesses along the Montauk Highway corridor to get access to sewers for the first time, allowing for their expansion and future development.
“Today we break ground on a historic sewer project that will both improve water quality in the Forge River and attract new investment to the Mastic community,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said at the project groundbreaking. “The Forge River project will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into our economy, create hundreds of new jobs, and eliminate 1,889 cesspools and septic systems that are leaking excess nitrogen into the groundwater aquifer, and ultimately, into the Forge River.”
