Suffolk water pipeline dispute should be resolved

The lines of an impending battle over water for the North Fork are becoming defined.

On one side, the Suffolk County Water Authority plans an 8.5-mile water pipeline to bring more supply to Southold from the pine barrens in Flanders. On the other side, officials of the Town of Riverhead, through which the pipeline would run, are circumspect.

The broad outline of this clash as so far presented by both regionally powerful domains is simple enough at first glance.

This $35 million water authority project would pump 6,000 gallons per minute to Southold, where shallow, and some contaminated, wells fail to meet demand.

That’s significant in a growing area. But denizens of the town along the pipeline’s intended route are justifiably concerned about the project’s impact on traffic, tourism and agriculture, especially along the two-lane Sound Avenue, an important alternate to Route 58 on the North Fork.

"Our farmers, they need to be able to have their businesses open," Riverhead Councilwoman Joann Waski says of the construction to come. "This isn't something that's just going to be one or two weekends. This is going to be months, years."

SCWA insists, however, that local zoning regulations should not apply to this significant project, and that it has "clear statutory authority to construct and operate water supply projects, and long-standing legal precedent affirms that our work is not subject to local jurisdiction."

That said, water authority CEO Jeff Szabo assured the editorial board Friday that the utility is willing to work with the town and the county to address specific concerns as it has done in sending water to homes in Manorville. He said construction is phased in piecemeal, a few hundred feet at a time, in communication with property owners.

Surely, compromises and understandings are possible even as Riverhead representatives complain that — so far — SCWA has not sufficiently shared details.

Town Attorney Erik Howard said his side could seek a community benefit agreement, or CBA, if the project moved ahead. That’s based on the premise, voiced by Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard, that the pipeline would run through its territory without directly serving its residents, unlike the Manorville hookup, which did. A CBA suggests the prospects of SCWA payments or an emergency interconnection for the Riverhead Water District.

The biggest worry for policymakers here should be a protracted bureaucratic and legal battle that threatens significant delays and costs. The town should make clear what reasonable demands it has in exchange for fully cooperating with the construction.

If face-to-face negotiations between the town and the water authority do not create progress, perhaps the county government needs to try to work out a deal on behalf of all constituents. Right now, this dispute seems far from intractable and shouldn't become more entrenched.

CORRECTION: Jeff Szabo is the CEO of the Suffolk County Water Authority. An earlier version of this editorial had the wrong title.