Furthermore, Denenberg added, Nassau County will be responsible for making $1.5 billion in improvements, $600 million of which was approved by the County Legislature in 2009 and 2010 — and should have been implemented in 2010 and 2011. “Those projects and upgrades could have been made in a timely manner by Nassau County employees,” Denenberg said, “and that would have been effective.”

United Water

United Water operates 90 municipal water systems in the U.S., many of them on the East Coast. Headquartered in Harrington Park, N.J., the company provides water and wastewater services to more than 5 million people.

“In municipalities across the country, our firm has been entrusted with one of the most important assets of any community: its water supplies and sanitary sewage system,” said CEO Bertrand Camus. “Every day we treat billions of gallons of water, and we do it safely and effectively, while bringing operational savings to the taxpayer.”

Under the agreement, United Water will manage Nassau County’s three sewage treatment plants — Bay Park, in East Rockaway, which serves 532,000 residents; Cedar Creek, in Wantagh, serving 600,000 residents; and Glen Cove, which serves 27,000 residents — as well as the county’s sewage system. The county will maintain ownership of the facilities, while United Water will be responsible for their around-the-clock operations as well as the protection of the surrounding wetlands and estuaries.

Environmentalists, workers speak out

“At first I was skeptical about having a private concern in the plants,” said Rob Weltner, executive director of Operation SPLASH — Stop Polluting, Littering and Save Our Harbors. “I thought we’d be able to turn the plants around and get back to the standards we once had, but it never happened. We’ve been in a constant state of decline, and we need someone with expertise. This infrastructure is critical for the environment and for public health.”