Suffolk County Water Authority is taking another run at state funding to bring public water to 60 Mattituck homes where testing last year uncovered widespread contamination of private wells by toxic “forever chemicals.”

SCWA announced Wednesday that it is seeking a $1.68 million state grant toward the estimated $2.4 million Reeve Avenue water-main extension. Its application for the same project was denied last year.

The proposal calls for installing 3,850 feet of water main, along with service taps and private service lines, across a section of Mattituck that includes Reeve and Westphalia avenues, Pike Street, New Suffolk Avenue and County Road 48.

The state grant would cover 70% of the project’s cost. The remaining $720,000 would be divided evenly among the 60 properties — about $12,000 apiece — unless SCWA secures additional funding, spokesman Dan Dubois said.

“Our previous grant-funded expansions in areas such as Manorville, Calverton and Westhampton were fully covered by those grants,” Mr. Dubois said. “That is our goal with the Reeve Avenue project, and we will explore every opportunity for funding.”

SCWA has also applied for congressional funding for the project.

The authority’s latest bid follows the discovery of extensive PFAS contamination in private wells across Mattituck. Testing conducted last year found that 20 of 38 wells contained PFOA or PFOS above the state drinking-water limit of 10 parts per trillion, The Suffolk Times previously reported.

Some readings reached 607 parts per trillion — more than 60 times the state limit.

The affected swath included portions of Reeve and Westphalia avenues, the Love Lane corridor and areas near Marratooka and James Creek ponds. The source of the contamination has not been identified.

SCWA included the Mattituck extension among 15 infrastructure projects totaling $36.04 million submitted for funding through the state Water Infrastructure Improvement program. The package also includes projects to remove PFAS and 1,4-dioxane from public drinking water and connect other Suffolk County neighborhoods with contaminated private wells to the public system.

The Mattituck extension is separate from SCWA’s controversial North Fork transmission pipeline, although PFAS contamination driving private-well owners onto public water is among the rising demands the authority says the larger project must address.

SCWA unveiled a substantially revised route last week that would send the 7.5-mile pipeline north along County Route 105 and east beneath Main Road, rather than along Sound Avenue. The new route is one mile shorter and could be completed by 2028, but would still bypass the Riverhead Water District without providing any connections to its customers.

The surprise change caught Riverhead and Southold officials off guard and has done little to quiet concerns over traffic, construction disruptions, water demand and the project’s cost.

Riverhead is also reviewing how the revision could affect its pending legal fight with SCWA over whether the authority must comply with the town’s zoning and land-use regulations.

The post SCWA makes second bid to bring public water to 60 Mattituck homes appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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