Bay Park Sewage plant changes hands

The roughly 55 million gallons of sewage and wastewater that runs through the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant now has a new overseer, as United Water took control of the day-to-day operations of the plant on Jan. 2.

“Today is day one of a long relationship between United Water and the people of Nassau County,” said Bertrand Camus, the utility’s chief executive officer. “We thank County Executive Ed Mangano and the Nassau County Legislature for entrusting United Water with helping protect the environmental future of Nassau County. We sincerely accept this responsibility as we begin a long-term partnership that brings accountability, guaranteed performance milestones, efficiencies and operational reliability, and saving taxpayer dollars.”

United Water, which provides water and wastewater services to more than 5 million people across the U.S., signed a 20-year contract with Nassau County to operate and manage all county sewage-treatment plants and collection systems last July, after more than two years of negotiations with county lawmakers.

A subsidy of Suez Environment, United Water guaranteed that the county would save more than $230 million over the life of the contract. When control of the plant was handed over last week, company officials boasted in a press release that they had already saved the county $12 million, exceeding the guaranteed $10 million in savings in the contract’s first year.

Mangano, who first proposed the contract in 2012, praised the deal as a win for Nassau County residents. “My administration has continued to seek public [and] private partnerships that enhance county services while saving taxpayer dollars,” he said. “This contract is a milestone for Nassau County, and a commitment to improving the quality of life for every resident. Working with United Water, we can look forward to a day when health is restored to our bays, and our way of life in Nassau County, which has all but disappeared, makes a dramatic comeback.”

The aging plant is currently undergoing an $800 million overhaul that will update its operations and repair the major damage done by Hurricane Sandy. Officials said the deal with American Water would not affect the construction, much of which is being funded by a federal grant.

Camus said that United Water is sensitive to the needs and desires of residents near the Bay Park plant, who have dealt with overwhelming smells and noise since the plant went offline during the October 2012 storm.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said that the new arrangement should provide a unique opportunity to introduce modern treatment technologies that will improve the quality of the plant’s effluent and reduce plant noise and odor in the adjacent communities.

“An experienced contractor brings global resources, technology and knowledge that cannot be found in the county,” Esposito said. “We believe a professional contractor, with community and county oversight, is the best safeguard for protecting public health, our groundwater and our waterways.”

Mike Martino, a spokesman for United Water, said that the county had been meeting monthly with residents to discuss the plant, and that the company planned to continue those meetings. United Water will also post information, including a video feed of outfall to Reynolds Channel and reports on the impact of the plant, on its website. And residents will be able to comment on the plant and find out more information via the plant’s new toll-free number, (866) 224-8508.

“We recognize that we need to demonstrate, from day one, a commitment to the residents of Nassau County, and specifically those who live adjacent to these facilities,” Camus said. “We intend to bring our excellent record of reliable performance in municipalities across the country to one of the most important suburban counties in the nation.”