Editorial

So far, the sewage deal doesn’t stink

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Anyone who has paid attention to Nassau County politics over the past few years knows that elected officials have tried just about everything to save money and raise revenue. From the closing of police precincts to the short-lived experimentation with school speed zone cameras, we’ve seen many gimmicks with which the county has tried to close the budget gap. Some have worked. Others have failed miserably.

In one measure that appears to have been beneficial, the county turned over the operations of its two sewage treatment plants — Cedar Creek, on the Wantagh-Seaford border, and Bay Park, in East Rockaway — to United Water, which is now Suez Water.

Most county residents probably don’t think about what happens after they flush a toilet, but for those living east of the Meadowbrook Parkway and south of the Long Island Expressway, sewage ends up at Cedar Creek, then goes through a multi-step process to remove harmful contaminants before it flows out into the Atlantic Ocean. Knowing where the sewage ultimately ends up, it’s important to have a clean, efficient plant to ensure that the end product won’t be harmful to the aquatic environment.

The Herald recently toured Cedar Creek, and it wasn’t just a superficial visit. Suez officials, who have been running the plant since the beginning of 2015, took us on a full tour of the massive facility. For all that can be seen from the street, there is just as much infrastructure underground. Long concrete hallways are lined with pipes large and small.

While some of the plant’s machinery certainly looks dated, there is evidence that the facility is generally well cared for under Suez’s management. Company officials say they pride themselves on preventive maintenance, repairing equipment before it breaks and becomes a more costly project. There are plenty of shiny new pipes, switches and controls. And with the exception of a few rooms, Cedar Creek really didn’t smell like a plant whose purpose is to treat sewage.

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