LaLota secures $2.25M for area homes to get clean water
Homes in Calverton and Riverhead affected by PFAS contamination will receive $2.25 million in federal money to install public water service as part of a broader package for 10 Suffolk County communities that was secured by Congressman Nick LaLota.
The appropriation will help complete the $5.6 million Extension 95 project, installing water mains to approximately 28 single-family homes along River Road, Railroad Avenue, Private Road and Canoe Lake Drive, according to the Jan. 23 announcement.
The homes are currently served by private wells contaminated with PFAS and PFOA due to groundwater pollution from the former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at Calverton, now known as EPCAL.
Over the past decade, the Navy has designated several new areas of concern and investigation sites where PFAS levels detected in groundwater were 100 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional screening level of four parts per trillion. The contamination plume stretches southeast across the runway toward the Peconic River.
The Extension 95 project is located in the southwest portion of Riverhead Town along various roadways in Calverton, north of the Peconic River, east of Connecticut Avenue and west of Edwards Avenue. The area includes the 28 single-family homes.
Frank Mancini, superintendent of the Riverhead Water District, said the federal funds help cover the rest of the money needed for the project on River Road. Mr. Mancini also emphasized the Navy did not contribute money to any water district project and credited Riverhead Town for its full support.
The next steps include engineering and town procedural processes, but Mr. Mancini said he expects the project could be underway in the next six to eight months.
“River Road [was] kind of left off to the side … but we grinded away internally, so this one I’m most proud of,” Mr. Mancini said in a phone interview. “[Councilman] Bob Kern and myself at every [Restoration Advisory Board] meeting bring this up, that this needs to be resolved. There’s a massive PFAs plume heading off this southeastern portion of the site, in the direction of these homes.”
Mr. LaLota’s announcement also included over $1 million for Southold Town Police for new vehicles and radio equipment. The funding includes $871,701 for 10 new Ford SUV police vehicles and $132,857 for 20 multi-band portable radios.
The House Appropriations Committee also announced that the Peconic Estuary and Long Island Sound will benefit from some of the $2.5 million in competitive grants dedicated to supporting coastal communities and environmental infrastructure.
“Suffolk County families deserve clean drinking water and safe communities, and these federal investments will deliver exactly that,” Mr. LaLota said in a release. “From mitigating PFAS contamination in our groundwater to equipping our police departments with modern vehicles and communications equipment, these projects represent targeted, taxpayer-funded solutions to real problems facing Long Island residents.”
