Here's why Suffolk is changing the way homeowners pay their sewer bill

A decadelong push to merge Suffolk County’s 27 sewer districts into a single management district takes effect Jan. 1, easing the path for future sewer expansion and speeding up environmental benefits, according to county officials.

The creation of a Countywide Wastewater Management District aims for Suffolk to stabilize rates homeowners pay and implement long-term wastewater infrastructure projects. Expanding sewers to more residential and commercial properties helps reduce nitrogen pollution and protect the sole-source aquifer used for drinking water, environmentalists say.

"That's the holy grail," said Jennifer Juengst, Suffolk's deputy county executive.

The new management district consolidates its existing sewer districts, which serve about 25% of Suffolk residents through 24 treatment plants, under a single umbrella.

“The purpose is to make it easy for people to connect to sewers so we can protect the groundwater and surface waters,” Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said this week.

Charles Bartha, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, will be in charge of the new district and the current employees who work at the sewer districts.

Here’s a look at what the change means for homeowners:

How did the county get here?

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, estimated the most recent push dates back about 15 years. In 2020, Suffolk lawmakers adopted a long-term wastewater infrastructure plan called the Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan intended to serve as a road map to reducing nitrogen pollution. That report said 380,000 cesspools and septic systems in the county should be eliminated over 50 years by connecting properties to sewers or by replacing outdated cesspools with advanced systems.

The county legislature in 2023 authorized the preparation of an analysis report known as   Map, Plan and Report on establishing the district. That report, completed in 2024, concluded the consolidated district is “necessary” for the earlier subwatersheds  plan to be implemented.

What are the benefits to a consolidated district?

A key change is to establish an equal rate structure. In 2024, an average resident in Sewer District No. 5 in Huntington was charged about $1,400 compared with $306 for a similar resident in Sewer District No. 6 in Kings Park for the same service of connecting to the sewer.

The consolidated district “will establish a fair and equitable rate structure,” according to the Map, Plan and Report. For example, a typical single-family home connected to sewer facilities in 2026 is projected to pay a fee of $661, according to the Map, Plan and Report.

The fee is expected to increase “annually at a modest level” through 2035 when it would be about $756.

Esposito said it had been “financially onerous” to expand a sewer district in a smaller area, “making it cost prohibitive,” whereas now the cost can be spread “over the whole county.”

What changes for homeowners?

The key difference is the way the county collects money from residents in sewer districts. Currently, each sewer district was financed largely by levying property taxes. Starting in 2026, residents will instead receive quarterly invoices through the Department of Public Works rather than the charge on a tax bill, Juengst said.

Will some homeowners pay more? 

Juengst said some homeowners who had been paying more than $661 will see a reduced cost. For other homeowners who had been paying less than $661, they'll receive credits through the reserve fund to cover the difference, she said.

"We're going to have a ramp up period because we didn't want them to have classic sticker shock," she said.

The credits homeowners receive decline over 10 years until the rates stabilize across the entire county, she said.

What risks were there to keeping things status quo?

Many individual sewer districts cannot cover their costs and instead rely on reserve funds to cover operating expenses, mainly through the County Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund. That fund, under the current structure, is projected to be drained by 2031, which would result in higher rates, according to the Map, Plan and Report.

Under the consolidated district, the reserve fund is expected to have a balance of $310 million in 2040 compared with a $91 million deficit, according to an analysis completed in 2023. 

How are homeowners notified of the upcoming change?

Juengst said homeowners in sewer districts can expect a letter from the Department of Public Works in December to alert them of the change. The letter will include a phone number and email for residents to seek additional information.

How does the new eighth of a percentage point bump in sales tax factor into the new district?

Last November, Suffolk voters approved a referendum to create a new Water Quality Restoration Fund with half of the revenue earmarked for wastewater treatment facility projects. The remaining half will be available to homeowners to upgrade individual septic systems in areas not ideal for sewer connections.

McCaffrey said if the referendum had not passed, it would not have made sense to move forward with the consolidated sewer district. Esposito said while it may have been possible to still consolidate, “it wouldn’t have been meaningful” without the dedicated revenue stream to fund future projects.

A 21-member Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Fund board of trustees earlier this year compiled a report ranking 30 projects that could draw money from the new fund that's expected to generate as much as $4 billion over its lifetime.

What changes will there be on a day-to-day basis starting in January at the existing sewer sites?

Juengst said "boots on the ground activities" won't change in terms of day-to-day operation. Some savings could be expected such as when ordering chemicals, which can be done in bulk rather than individually by each district, she said.

What about commercial properties in the sewer district?

Juengst said the commercial property owners should expect to pay similar amounts going forward as the methodology for their costs is unchanged.

Why did Suffolk end up in a position where nearly 75% of homes are not connected to sewers?

Newsday explored this question in detail in 2018 and traced the origins to the 1970s and the Southwest Sewer District in portions of Islip, Babylon and Huntington towns, which at the time was considered a first step toward creating countywide sewer infrastructure. The project was plagued by scandal; the cost grew nearly four times the initial projection and took more than a decade to complete, Newsday reported. Appetite for sewer projects waned after that.

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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