$5.8M Grant To Port Washington To Reduce Sewage Overflows
PORT WASHINGTON, NY — The Port Washington Water Pollution Control District has been awarded a $5.856 million grant to rehabilitate about 16,000 linear feet of gravity sewer main to reduce sanitary sewer overflows. The project will improve water quality in Long Island Sound's Manhasset Bay, state officials said.Because raw sewage is dangerous to people's health, the Port Washington Water Pollution Control District was established in 1915 with a wastewater collection system that includes 67 miles of manholes, sanitary sewer pipes ranging in size from 8" to 24" diameter and 17 pump stations. This network collects and convey sewage and wastewater to the Wastewater Treatment Plant at 70 Harbor Drive, where it is treated and then discharged into the bay.(Google Maps)The PWWPCD serves more than 28,000 residents and businesses in the greater Port Washington area, including the village of Port Washington North, as well as portions of the villages of Flower Hill and Baxter Estates. In addition, under the terms of an outside contract, the District treats the sewage collected by the village of Manorhaven which the village conveys to the District via their sewage pumping station.The grant comes from the Long Island Sound Study, made possible by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.According to the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, which performs routine water quality monitoring of the bay’s waters, some of the highest bacteria concentrations are at sampling stations near the Port Washington plant. "The most significant contributor to bacteria levels in the bay is aging and failing sewage infrastructure," officials at the Long Island Sound Study said in an online post. "The Port Washington Water Pollution Control District was originally built in 1915. Most of its infrastructure is at least 50 years old, with some portions over 100 years old, putting it at a higher risk of blockages and pipe line breaks which cause overflows. However, with updates for this project, the system’s sewer pipes will be able to stay in service for an additional 50 years.""We commend Port Washington for doing this," Peter Linderoth, Save the Sound's director of water quality, told Patch. "This gives them the ability to do something widespread with a substantial amount of money."Aging sewer systems are a big issue all around Long Island Sound, he said. "We have some really old towns and villages that have been around for hundreds of years. There are some aging areas of sanitary sewer infrastructure.""It’s sometimes out of sight, out of mind. Pipes start to deteriorate. They can crack, collapse," he said. "It can lead to literal eruptions of untreated sewage. It's an immediate health problem."Sewage oozing out of cracked pipes goes into the groundwater, he said. In addition to the pathogens in untreated fecal waste, there's also nitrogen, which can cause toxic algae blooms.The good news, he said, is that there is money available to address issues and potential issues with sewer systems, reducing the frequency of overflows.Port Washington Water Pollution Control District personnel investigate all sewage back-ups to determine if the problem is within the sewer line that is the property owner's responsibility, or the district's pipes. The District has a webpage on how to prevent sewer back-ups and an online FAQ. The article $5.8M Grant To Port Washington To Reduce Sewage Overflows appeared first on Port Washington, NY Patch.
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