Bay Park Conveyance Project work continues

Microtunneling is slated to begin this week at Bay Park on the Bay Park Conveyance Project, a joint effort between the Nassau County Department of Public Works and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The project is a massive effort to improve water quality and storm resiliency in Nassau County and South Shore communities like Wantagh, Seaford, Bellmore and Merrick.

Through microtunneling, underground tunnels for a new, stronger pipeline will be installed deep below the surface, running from the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility, extending two miles north to Sunrise Highway, and from Sunrise Highway in western Wantagh extending over one and half miles south to the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant on the Wantagh-Seaford border.

The project, which DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos called “the largest microtunneling project in the hemisphere”, will construct 10.9 miles of new pipeline to convey treated water from the South Shore WRF to the Cedar Creek WPCP to be discharged through an existing ocean outfall.

Sliplining, a construction technique that installs a smaller pipe inside a larger host pipe, began on March 14. More than seven miles of unused aqueduct below Sunrise Highway, from Rockville Centre to western Wantagh, will be repurposed. The pipeline will be constructed faster, at a substantially reduced cost, according to a press release from the DEC.

“The … project will not only install sustainable infrastructure for the disposal of treated wastewater but also further improve the environmental health of the Western Bays and implement critical shoreline protections for our communities,” Senator John Brooks of District 8 said in a press release.

The South Shore WRF serves more than 500,000 county residents. It discharges an average of 52 million gallons of treated water into Reynolds Channel each day. The discharge impacts nearly 10,000 acres of water and tidal marshland in the Western Bays. The area is impacted due to nitrogen in treated water, which can lead to the disintegration of coastal marshlands.

“The rising nitrogen levels caused by human activity will further endanger our coastal marshes if we don’t act now,” said Assemblyman David McDonough. “Losing this crucial ecosystem will threaten coastal communities, as these marshes serve as a protective barrier from storm surges, flooding and erosion.”

Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin said the town is committed to working alongside all governmental partners “to ensure our bays and waterways remain free of potential pollutants.”

Residents with questions or concerns are encouraged to call Western Bays Constructors’ 24/7 Project Hotline at (516) 252-6121, sign up for mailing updates and visit the company’s Community Information Center on Sunrise Highway in Rockville Centre.