Town of Hempstead announces directors of South East Nassau Water Authority

A spokeswoman for the Town of Hempstead said that the town plans to announce the five directors of the newly implemented South Eastern Nassau Water Authority Task Force at the town hall meeting on Tuesday, Sep. 7.

The five directors – three from the Town of Hempstead and two from the Town of Oyster Bay – will be the authority in determining if the acquisition of Aqua America, Inc. ("Aqua") as a public water authority is financially feasible.

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray first announced her intentions at a press conference in January to re-establish the Southeastern Nassau Water Authority ("SENWA") to investigate the feasibility of acquiring Aqua as a public water authority.

Aqua is the private water authority that supplies water to Merrick, Bellmore Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa and parts of Levittown and Massapequa Park. As a private water authority, residents are required to pay significantly more for water than other Nassau County towns, which receive their water from public water authorities.

However, for this takeover to happen, the Town of Hempstead needed to appoint three directors to SENWA and the Town of Oyster Bay needed to appoint two. Murray stated at the January press conference that the interview process was complete, and that the decision will be made in a few weeks.

Several months passed, and no appointments were made. This prompted Claudia Borecky, the president of the North Merrick Civic Association, to write a letter to both Murray and Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto requesting that the appointments be made soon.

"It should not take eight months to make appointments to this board," said Borecky. "SENWA cannot operate without a board of directors."

The acquisition of Aqua by SENWA would ultimately lower the water bills for Merrick residents, some of whom pay more for water than they do electricity, says Borecky.

"I, on behalf of the people of North Merrick and thousands of Aqua customers, implore Supervisors Murray and Venditto to expedite the decision process," Borecky said.

Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, a Democrat who represents Bellmore and Merrick, has also written multiple letters to the town supervisor urging for the appointment of SENWA directors.

"Town residents served by Aqua are paying more than three times as much for water than town residents serviced by public water," said Denenberg. "Aqua rate payers pay the highest rates in the country and Aqua continues to realize record profits. If you wish to help Aqua rate payers, the SENWA board selection process must be completed immediately. The authority requires a board of directors, appointed by the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay, before it can begin to investigate, analyze and evaluate a takeover. And, if such a takeover is financially beneficial, a