Nassau County Approves Bond For Bay Park Conveyance Project

On Monday, the Nassau County Legislature approved a $408 million bond resolution that will help fund the Bay Park Conveyance Project — a plan to stop discharging treated sewage into the Reynolds Channel and divert it to the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant, which discharges into the ocean.

The bond builds on the $830 million in state and federal money already invested in the project. The goal is to rebuild the Bay Park plant — which was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy — and use it to divert treated sewage to the Cedar Creek plant in Wantagh. Doing so will stop the discharge of about 19 billion gallons of treated sewage into the Western Bays each year, which will help protect and rejuvenate the marshlands that help protect coastal communities from storm damage.

"The Bay Park Conveyance Project will help prevent the major source of nitrogen pollution from degrading marsh islands and damaging the delicate ecosystem that helps protect Long Island's coast from devastating waves and storm surges," Governor Andrew Cuomo said. "New York's innovative efforts to improve our infrastructure will be instrumental in protecting water quality and will support stronger, more resilient communities that are prepared to withstand extreme weather."

The project is made possible by a 100-year-old aqueduct that the county recently found under Sunrise Highway, which connects the Bay Park and Cedar Creek plants. The county will build one two-mile-long force main from Bay Park to the aqueduct, and then another two-mile force main from the aqueduct to Cedar Creek. The work will also rehabilitate the aqueduct. Using the aqueduct will help the project be completed about 10 years sooner than originally thought, and save about $600 million.

Built in 1949, the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant serves more than 500,000 Nassau County residents and discharges an average of 52 million gallons of treated wastewater into Reynolds Channel each day. This discharge impacts nearly 10,000 acres of water and tidal marshland in the Western Bays, from Atlantic Beach to Point Lookout, including Hewlett and Baldwin harbors.

Due in large part to nitrogen in treated wastewater from this plant, the Western Bays are impaired by macro algae blooms and other water quality problems. In addition, scientific studies have linked excess nitrogen to the damage and ultimate disintegration of coastal marsh islands that serve as a resilient barrier to storm surge and waves.

"I am pleased that we are steadily moving along with the crucial Bay Park project, which upon completion will result in cleaner water, a healthier environment, and more resilient coastal communities on Nassau's south shore," said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. "I thank our New York State partners, especially Governor Cuomo and DEC, for making this project a priority."