Proposed electrical upgrades, water main extension in the works at Calverton sites

The Riverhead Water District provided some updates last month on proposed electrical upgrade and water main extension projects taking place in the Riverhead region to combat groundwater contamination. 

At a Feb. 19 public hearing, water district superintendent Frank Mancini discussed a $2.35 million plan for electrical improvements at Plant No. 7, located at northwestern corner of Fresh Pond Road in Calverton. 

This particular plant, built in the mid-1980s, contains two wells, and all its electrical equipment is outdated and has “moved past its useful life,” Mr. Mancini said. The project would be undertaken at the sole expense of the Riverhead Water District and, once issued, be funded by municipal bonds. 

“We, in fact, had a small fire there a couple of months ago inside one of the starter panels in our wells, so I’ve got to get that up and running for the summer,” Mr. Mancini said at the public hearing. “But, this is the permanent solution to that.” 

The project entails ripping out two old generators and installing one, increasing to an 800-amp electrical service and implementing variable speed drive technology in the wells, which will help get more water out of the ground during significant pumping and high pressure in the system, Mr. Mancini explained. 

With a little over $2 million being allocated for the electrical work, Mr. Mancini also noted that this specific site may be impacted by the U.S. Navy’s contamination cleanup efforts in the future. 

To prepare for this, the water district conducted an internal analysis and determined it would require roughly $250,000 to build a station to maintain the electrical infrastructure in case the Navy would ever require treatment of the facility. 

“It would be terrible to have to rip all this out and replace it with new stuff,” Mr. Mancini said. “It makes a difference from going from a 600-amp service to an 800-amp service that would accommodate any additional treatment in the future.” 

Plant No. 7’s wells produce 20% of the water the district pumps, the superintendent said, and 40% of the water pumped toward the “high zone,” which runs from the northern half of Riverhead to EPCAL in Calverton. 

Mr. Mancini said this site produces “phenomenal” water quality but is at risk for poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAs — in the groundwater from the contaminated, former Grumman site in Calverton. 

The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first-ever national regulations for so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water almost a year ago. The new regulations establish a national allowable limit on certain PFAS in drinking water.

There are confirmed reports of PFAs migrating southeast into the Peconic River, however, Mr. Mancini said the contaminants have been detected at the northern side of the old Grumman property as well and could move northeast to Plant No. 7. 

“These are extremely valuable wells to us, and we can’t wait any longer to do this type of upgrade,” Mr. Mancini said. “Although it’s far away, we are able to model these things out to a hundred years — we feel this could potentially impact us in 50 years, and we’ve been operating out of this site since the [1980s], so that’s 40 years. 

“Maybe it won’t; the groundwater modeling is not absolute, but it’s something we should be aware of,” he continued. Mr. Mancini also said PFAs contamination can be managed, just as it has been at other sites on Long Island, and town officials have made some headway in urging the U.S. Navy to assis in this matter. 

At the same Town Board meeting, Riverhead council members approved a 2,800-linear-foot water main extension for the Forge Road area in Calverton, which would extend service to 70 mobile homes and 14 single-family residences currently receiving potable drinking water from private wells. There has also been detection of contaminants or likely potential for contamination from PFAs, arsenic, iron and manganese in these private wells. 

The total cost of the water main extension is approximately $1.52 million, with $1.18 million of this estimated total authorized through grant funding under the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $335,000 coming out of the town’s Community Preservation Fund. 

Each resident will be responsible for installing a dedicated private service line from the meter pit to their home, as well as paying for water meter costs, backflow prevention where appropriate and connection to internal plumbing.