Brookhaven Town is readying a $200,000 effort to replace pollution-spewing cesspools at a Mount Sinai park with a more environmentally friendly septic system, officials said. The town this fall will begin installing a sewage system at Cedar Beach that uses an advanced technology that officials say is cleaner than outdated cesspools. Unlike cesspools and older sewage systems, the new system uses ammonia and bacteria to convert waste into nitrogen gas, which is safely released into the air.
Suffolk is kicking in $100,000 from its Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program for the project, County Executive Edward P. Romaine announced last week, with Brookhaven borrowing $100,000 to match the county grant. “This is another important project that will help improve water quality and preserve our natural beauty," Romaine said.
The septic system will collect and treat wastewater from restrooms at the park, which includes two beaches, basketball courts, a playground, a marina and a nature center with touch tanks and interactive displays, Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner said. Cedar Beach was "a logical place" to install the system because it rests on a peninsula sitting between Long Island Sound and Mount Sinai Harbor, she said. "Cedar Beach is a popular location and destination” that also includes a shellfish hatchery, walking trails, a fishing pier and boat launch ramps, Bonner said.
“We just thought it was a logical solution to treat the water so it has the least impact on.
