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Overcast Bay Park and Cedar Creek plants upgraded
Public works commissioner explains new improvements at meeting
Following months of criticism by residents, environmentalists and elected officials, Nassau County officials from the Department of Public Works provided an update on the improvements made at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant in East Rockaway and the Cedar Creek treatment plant in Wantagh.
More than 40 residents attended a meeting at the Long Beach Public Library on March 1, hosted by the Surfrider Foundation, that included local and Nassau County officials — among them Long Beach zoning board member Ray Ellmer and Legislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) — to learn the latest on the plants.
Last fall, the Bay Park plant was cited for numerous violations by the state Department of Environmental Conservation after it was discovered that the plant had been releasing partially treated sewage in greater concentrations than allowed by environmental law for months. Nassau County officials attributed the problem to malfunctioning equipment at the plant.
In January, the County Legislature earmarked $3 million for new equipment and upgrades at the facility. DEC officials said the plant has taken steps to limit the discharge of partially treated solids, and the recent discharge has been below or very close to legal limits.
Shila Shah-Gavnoudias, commissioner of the county’s Department of Public Works, cited numerous improvements that have been made at the Bay Park and Cedar Creek plants, ranging from repaired equipment to the hiring of new staff. “We did make a lot of changes,” Shah-Gavnoudias said. “We evaluated our process and our maintenance procedures.”
She explained that two out of three of the Bay Park plant’s grit tanks are now operational. She also noted that a contractor is being sought to undertake a complete rehabilitation of all eight primary tanks, and that the plant’s 10 final tanks are now all operational. She said that gravity belt thickeners — which separate solids from wastewater, to help mitigate discharge — were put into place in December and January, and that the equipment is working effectively.
