L.I. American Water plant proposal in Lynbrook

Long ISland American Water offered a detailed presentation at Lynbrook’s board meeting on Feb. 21.

Courtesy LIAW

Representatives from Long Island American Water answered questions from Lynbrook village board members and local residents who had concerns about plans to construct a new iron filtration plant in Lynbrook at the village’s Feb. 21 regular board meeting.

The proposed new plant, which would be built on Whitehall Street where the current plant operates, would have the capability to filter out iron from the water before it is distributed. The current plant has two wells that pumps water out of aquifers, and with minimal treatment that water gets pumped into the distribution system, according to Ben Claase, manager of engineering for Long Island American Water.

“The current two well sites no longer meet the drinking water standards,” Claase said. “…We cannot pump that water into the system anymore because the iron content has slowly over the years increased. It does not meet the Nassau County Health Department and New York State [Health Department] drinking water standards. Therefore, we selected to design and build an iron removal facility at this location.”

The proposal calls for the demolition of the current two-building site and the construction of two residential look buildings in its place. The main building would be L-shaped, contain approximately 3,400 square feet and stand 25 feet 11 inches. The second building will be 12 feet high and approximately 400 square feet.

Claase said that the proposed plant would backwash the iron content out of filters and discharge it into the sewers. The backwash tank would be 30 feet in diameter, stand 26 feet high and hold 132,000 gallons of water. It would be located in the back of the plant, leaving some residents concerned about a potential eyesore. According to Claase, there would be less than a foot of the backwashtank exposed.

“In my professional opinion,” Claase said, “the removal of the existing older facilities that date back to the 1950s period are not the prettiest and we’ve gone to great lengths to design a building that has a residential nature and feel that blends very nicely into the mostly residential, but also commercial areas.”