Development Slowed By Sewage

Approval for a new mini-city development in Suffolk County is contingent upon getting a hook-up to the sewer system, which may or may not be able to handle the added burden.

A bottleneck to continued growth is feared by developers on Long Island because of a sewage treatment plant. The plant is too small to handle the increased capacity required for large building projects. The sewer system in question is the Southwest Sewer District, and the 1.7 million gallons a day the new development is allotted amounts to practically the last available waste its treatment plant can process. Some other approved projects may never be built, and the moment when Suffolk County runs out of sewer capacity may still be years away. But for the moment at least, there's no more room at the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant in West Babylon for developers to hook up any new projects that aren't already within the boundaries of the sewer district. This puts a real crimp in any further development because, for example, a developer who could receive approval for 20 units per acre for affordable housing with a sewer hook-up, might instead be limited to six units. An impact fee could be levied on industrial users to finance expansion of the Southwest Sewer District, or worse, there is a long-term alternative, which is entirely unpalatable: to prevent all new hook-ups to the sewer system.