County OKs land grant for Port water district project in Morley Park

Rose Weldon
Nassau County Legislature is supporting the Port Washington Water District's proposed contaminant filtration system at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn, which is adjacent to wells and related operations. (Photo courtesy of the office of Delia DeRiggi-Whitton)

The Nassau County Legislature voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve a land grant and send a message in support of state legislation that would allow the Port Washington Water District to build a new water contaminant filtration system at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn.

The Morley Park treatment facility is one of three that the Port Washington Water District is building to filter out 1,4-dioxane and other emerging contaminants from its wells. To build the facility, state legislation authorizing alienation of the county land at Morley Park is required.

The small parcel of unused property is along Searingtown Road, adjacent to other service buildings.

The main goal in building the center will be the inclusion of a filtration system that will feature an advanced oxidation process and a granular activated carbon filtration system, which work together to extract contaminants from freshwater supplies.

Identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a “likely” carcinogen, 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of manufacturing and is also used as a solvent stabilizer in many household cleaning and beauty products.

While Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation in December 2019 that bans the sale of cleaning products containing 1,4-dioxane in the state, the chemical does not break down naturally.

Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) reiterated the dangers of 1,4-dioxane in a statement from her office.

“Removing 1,4-dioxane and other emerging contaminants from our drinking water is a critical component of our efforts to protect the health of our residents,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “As a staunch protector of our environment, I’m proud to continue working with our New York State representatives, leaders of the Port Washington Water District, and my colleagues in the Nassau County Legislature to bring this essential project to fruition.”

In the past, with assistance from state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) and state Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso (D-New Hyde Park), the district was awarded $18 million in grant funding for the filtration systems, which will help offset some of the district’s expenses as it improves its infrastructure to filter out emerging contaminants like 1,4-dioxane.

District Superintendent Italo Vacchio thanked the legislature in a statement.

“On behalf of the water district, we wish to thank the county legislators who helped to get the approval for the land acquisition for this much-needed filtration facility,” Vacchio said. “We are hopeful that the home-rule message will reach Albany in time for approval at the State level so that we can get started with engineering of the project as soon as possible. I’d like to especially thank Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton for her exceptional level of attention and support during this process.”

The district is planning two virtual public information sessions in the upcoming weeks. Dates have not yet been announced.

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