Press Releases

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

September 16, 2003
SCWA Continues Hurricane Preparations

The Suffolk County Water Authority continued its preparations today for the possible landfall of Hurricane Isabel later in the week. "We have emergency contingency plans in place for just such situations," said Authority Chairman Michael LoGrande, adding, "We are quite confident that we will continue to deliver water to our customers should we lose electricity in large areas of Suffolk County."

"The Water Authority has an extensive network of back up electric generators which allows us to produce our own electricity and keep our pumps running," Authority CEO Stephen Jones said, "During last month's blackout, not one single Water Authority customer was without water." Jones continued, " Our major facilities, including our water testing laboratory, all have back up generation so we can continue to provide pure, safe water that meets all water quality safety standards."

The Water Authority monitors and operates its wells from its new state-of-the-art Production Control Center using a highly sophisticated radio based communications system. Robert Murray, Director of Production Control, said "Even if power is out and lines are down, we will be able to operate our pumps, make sure that our generators have started, and that water is flowing into our system for our customers and firefighting."

The Water Authority encourages its customers to follow the American Red Cross guidelines for emergency preparedness that can be found at www.RedCross.org, and to listen closely to all public advisories.