Neighbors raise worries about proposed NYAW chemical storage, generator

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A map showing the FEMA-designated flood plain around the New York American Water facility on Starfire Court.
A map showing the FEMA-designated flood plain around the New York American Water facility on Starfire Court.
Data courtesy FEMA, illustration by Christina Daly/Herald

In 1997, a group of Hewlett and South Valley Stream residents banded together to oppose a New York American Water — then Long Island Water — project that would have altered the streets around the utility’s facility on Starfire Court. It included demolishing the Woodmere Middle School to make room for entrance and exit routes for trucks.
The proposal was shot down, but more than 20 years later, New York American Water officials have returned with another set of additions to the water production and treatment plant, and some of the same neighbors have raised concerns about noise and soil pollution.
Appearing before the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan 16, William Bonesso, of the Uniondale-based law firm Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP, representing New York American Water, outlined the proposed changes. They include installation of 36-foot-tall protective canopies over the facility’s water-filter beds and aerator to comply with county Department of Health regulations.
Of chief concern to neighbors is the proposed construction of a 33-by-39-foot chemical-storage building, as well as the installation of a diesel-powered emergency backup generator.
Gary Carlton, whose house on Hungry Harbor Road abuts the wooded area around the facility, said he was worried about what kinds of chemicals might be stored in the new structure, and whether they would be protected against floods — the entire area lies within a Federal Emergency Management Agency 2009 flood plain, and was hit with at least three feet of water during Hurricane Sandy, according to Carlton. Additionally, he expressed worry about noise from the generator.

“Absolutely none of the things I was concerned about were addressed at the hearing,” Carlton said, “. . . and nothing specifically about whether or not these facilities are part of the flood zone.”
Starfire Court resident David Rosen, who worked with Carlton in 1997 against Long Island Water, expressed similar concerns.
“My biggest concern is the chemical building they’re building,” he said, pointing out that the BZA mailer notice sent to him made no mention of chemical storage. “I think that would have put more people in concerned mode, instead of being ignored,” he said.
Susan Candiotti, who lives on Newport Drive and was also active against the water utility in 1997, offered similar thoughts. “I was concerned about what they were going to store in one of those sheds,” she said.
According to Bonesso, the main purpose of the new structure is to automate the process of introducing lime into the water supply to balance its alkalinity, or pH level.
“Right now, the way they handle pH at the site is a physical process of adding big bags of lime to the water supply,” he ex-plained. “We’re constructing a building to mechanically maintain the pH, and add lime when needed.”
Speaking to the Herald, New York American Water Engineering Manager John Kilpatrick said that the proposed storage facility would be built on the small section of the utility’s property designated by FEMA as having less of a chance of flooding than the surrounding land.
Called an X flood zone, it has a 0.2 percent annual chance of flooding, while the rest of the plant falls within an AE zone, according to FEMA flood plain maps, which has a 1 percent annual chance of flooding.
“In addition,” Kilpatrick noted, “protection against flooding is taken into account in the site design, and is part of the review and approval process by the Nassau County Department of Health.”
For security reasons, Kilpatrick said he could not disclose what other types of chemicals would be stored in the new structure, but explained they are standard water-treatment chemicals used by utilities across the county, as well as in all of New York American Water’s treatment facilities.

Noise concerns
The other chief worry that Carlton raised was that of noise from the proposed generator, and how often the machine would be used.
Bonesso said the generator would be housed in a sound-baffled structure to suppress noise, and Kilpatrick said that it would only operate in emergency conditions, such as during a power outage, aside from a weekly test to ensure that it remained in operating condition.
Additionally, addressing a noise complaint submitted to the BZA about the beeping of trucks backing up on the site, Kilpatrick said the utility would add the planting of cypress trees along the facility’s Hungry Harbor Road border to its proposal to dampen the noise produced by the trucks.
New York American Water officials said they hoped that the additional information they were presenting, and some of the changes to their proposal, would allay nearby residents’ worries.
After living in the area for 26 years and following the 1997 battle, Candiotti said that, for the most part, New York American Water’s presence nearby has not caused much of a disruption.
“Generally,” she said, “the water company has been a good neighbor.”