Babylon Town will propose that 56 homeowners in the Oak Beach Barrier Beach community pay $ 4.2 million over 30 years to fund the completion of a public water system that has been delayed by nearly a decade.
As part of the proposal, they will each pay the city $ 2,500 a year and will eventually receive a water bill from the Suffolk County Water Authority, which will build a sewage treatment plant and connect to homes next to the Oak Beach Community Center, Joe Guarino said . City’s chief environmental analyst.
Most of the 200 homes rely on groundwater wells dug hundreds of feet into the ground for their water, which is not regulated by the Suffolk County’s Department of Health. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled for Wednesday via the city’s YouTube page.
“It’s been a long and arduous process but we’re almost there,” said Guarino.
Tom Jones, an Oak Beach resident, at the site of the proposed water system and sewage treatment plant on Oak Beach Road. He said he doesn’t think there are any problems with his well water that would require a water treatment plant. Photo credit: Morgan Campbell / Morgan Campbell
The project was delayed due to difficulties in finding a location for the new system and higher than expected costs in the offers the city received.
Babylon owns the land in Oak Beach and the land is owned by the homeowners. But the city, not the owners, is responsible for updating its water systems, Guarino said.
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Some of the private wells used did not meet hygiene standards and were reported with three outbreaks of E. coli from a July 2015 city report and one City water quality report from 2018 showing iron content exceeds safety standards.
Jeff Szabo, executive director of Suffolk County Water Authority, said that once the system is built, Oak Beach property owners will likely be charged a general water usage rate and pay $ 20 per quarter for water quality and treatment, pending Board approval.
The water authority calculates his Water users consumed $ 2.028 per thousand gallons but increased the price to $ 2.119 per thousand gallons as of June 1.
A government grant is expected to cover $ 1.8 million of the costs, while the city is issuing bonds for the remaining $ 7 million. Although Oak Beach residents paid $ 4.2 million of the loan, the remaining $ 2.8 million will be paid in taxes by all Babylon Town property owners over 30 years, city officials said.
Twenty-two additional homes in Oak Beach could be added to the proposed water system, said Dan Schaefer, a city spokesman. Homeowners who sign up pay $ 2,500 a year, which cuts the city’s subsidies.
City officials and the water board are working with Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) to raise federal funding for the project, his office confirmed.
Adrienne Esposito, Managing Director of the Citizens’ Campaign for the Environment, an advocacy group based in Farmingdale, These practices, such as drinking from wells, pose a risk of contamination.
“While we hate to see people have to pay more for water, the cost of the disease is even higher when the water is polluted,” Esposito said.
Some residents said they were not happy with the bills that get in their way if the plan is approved.
Tom Jones, 73, doesn’t think there are any problems with his water.
“Nobody I know got sick,” said Jones. “Everyone here is losing sleep.”
Jim Schappert, 43, said residents were forced to pay for the water system along with usage fees and maintenance.
“A handful of Oak Beach residents could soon be paying the highest water bill in the country,” he said.
HOW WATER COSTS would flow
- The total cost of the project is $ 8.8 million
- 56 of the 200 households will pay $ 2,500 per year for 30 years
- A government grant will contribute $ 1.8 million to the project
- The city’s residents pay $ 2.8 million for 30 years
SOURCE: City of Babylon
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