Press Releases

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

November 16, 1998
Selden Resident Doubles as SCWA Ambassador

For the first 11 years Bob Marcos lived in Selden, he said recently, "I never even knew what the water authority was."

That changed soon after he came to work for the Suffolk County Water Authority in September of 1984 after a friend suggested he apply. That winter was a cold one. He worked hard each day digging down four to five feet to install new hookups, and after his daughter was born in January, he recalls, "She cried all night; I was physically and mentally exhausted." Nevertheless, he quickly became fascinated with the Authority and curious to learn everything he could about the business of providing a safe, reliable water supply to the majority of Suffolk residents.

He still studies constantly, reads the Authority's Annual Reports from cover to cover, and is often the only employee attending SCWA board meetings on his own time. And, when someone is invited to represent the Authority at a community event, Marcos is delighted to function as an SCWA ambassador. That's how he recently found himself, along with his vehicle and equipment, between an oil truck and a telephone company representative at a Community Helper/Transportation Day in Deer Park, surrounded by the eager hands and eyes of hundreds of kindergarten through second grade students.

The audience was a bit younger than he had anticipated, and the competition for their attention included both the local fire department's moving ladder and a police siren. "I knew I had to compensate for that," he said. "My whole agenda had to change." Consequently, Marcos quickly began hiding some of the more complicated items he had brought, like a distribution map, and taking out things kids could touch and use to make noise. Soon, as each group of youngsters approached, Marcos had the teachers organize them into two lines so that each child could try out a remote gun that reads meters.

The kids had plenty of questions, too, such as, "How come water's not free?" Diplomatically, Marcos explained that while the rain water that falls from the sky is free, customers pay for a service and have to share the costs of the equipment, electricity and labor that enable the Authority to monitor water quality and deliver a safe supply to their homes.

According to PTA Leader Pat Szewczuk, who organized the event, Marcos not only explained his job in terms the students could understand but also gave tips on water conservation. "Bob was wonderful," she said. "He was so patient with those children."

Marcos is also ready at any time to handle the more sophisticated inquiries of adults, which soon became apparent to his fellow guests. Several of the other participants approached him during the event so that Marcos found he was also educating "the backhoe guy, the oil guy...in between the kids, they would ask me questions."

He enjoys telling people, for instance, that the average SCWA customer gets a year's supply of water for around $244 -- which is comparable to Marcos' electric bill for only one month. He also points out that while Suffolk County government employs about 10,000 people, the Authority, a non-governmental, self-supporting public benefit corporation, covers almost the same amount of territory with just 600.

To sum it all up, says the water ambassador from Selden, "If I had to pick a word to describe the SCWA, it would be successful."

The Suffolk County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation operating by virtue of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. The Authority is operated solely for the benefit of the customers it serves.

Bob Marcos explains his work as an SCWA General Utility A employee to some new friends at the John Quincy Adams Primary School in Deer Park, where he spoke to hundreds of students who are now about the same age Marcos was when his family moved to Selden. An enthusiastic ambassador for what he calls "our most important resource," Marcos enjoys helping adults as well as the Authority's tiniest customers understand how the Authority can provide a year's supply of pure water for about as much as many Long Islanders spend on electricity in just one month.
( SCWA Photo by Debra Lyon)

The Suffolk County Water Authority is a public benefit corporation operating by virtue of the Public Authorities law of the State of New York. The Authority is operated solely for the benefit of the customers it serves.