Press Releases

Contact: Public Relations Department
Suffolk County Water Authority
PO Box 37
Oakdale NY 11769
(631) 563-0296

October 13, 1999
SCWA Demonstrates New Technology To Bring Water to Smith Point Park

The Suffolk County Water Authority recently unveiled one of its most ambitious projects to date: bringing clean, fresh drinking water directly to Smith Point County Park by using a state-of-the-art directional drilling technique to tunnel under the Great South Bay without disturbing the environment.

The necessary project replaced the park's older water system that had become infiltrated with salt water. On an emergency basis, the SCWA supplied portable water tanks during the summer at the request of the Suffolk County Parks Department since Smith Point, on the Fire Island barrier beach, is an extremely popular recreational area for sportsmen, surfers and beach lovers. The adjoining camping facility attracts hundreds of thousands of Suffolk County residents and tourists each summer season.

According to Chairman and CEO Michael LoGrande, the SCWA used a remote-controlled boring head to drag flexible pipe it was laying behind it. Workers at the site were able to "steer" the drill into the ground on the north side of Narrows Bay and under the floor of the bay itself towards an exit hole on the south side of Narrows Bay. In contrast to conventional methods, which would have required disturbing environmentally sensitive wetland areas and the bay bottom itself, the newer method protects the environment, leaving little evidence of any excavation. A few years ago, the economics of such an undertaking would have been prohibitive, but recent technological developments have made directional drilling more affordable than previous methods.

"The beauty of this project is that is causes no disruption at all," LoGrande said. "Sailors and fishermen would not even realize that a water main was tunneling itself beneath them. Our priority is to ensure that clean, safe water is available to all residents using the park, and this technology allows us to do so in a cost-effective manner."

Actual construction on the project, as designed by the SCWA, is being carried out by the group contractor, Bancker Construction Corporation, and by Michels Pipeline Construction, Inc. of Brownsville, Wisconsin.

The Suffolk County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation operating by virtue of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving about 80% of Suffolk's residents, it operates without taxing power on a non-profit basis.