In an effort to protect the Peconic River from nitrogen pollution and conserve water, Suffolk County will begin a new program in 2016 that will divert 350,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day into the irrigation system of the Indian Island Country Club golf course, Newsday reported last week.
The program at the Riverhead course will be "the first of its kind in Suffolk County," according to county legislator Al Krupski. The Riverhead Sewer District plant, located just west of the golf course, will link up with Indian Island's watering system during irrigation months and pump nearly half of its normal daily output to the course rather than into the Peconic River, which is polluted with high nitrogen and low oxygen levels.
Besides pollution control, the program will lessen the need to use water from underground aquifers for irrigation purposes.
Sewer District Superintendent Michael Reichel said the wastewater will be treated "to the limits of technology" and be "better than the water they're pumping from the ground." He said municipalities often reuse wastewater in arid states, but the practice is rare in New York. — Newsday, Will James, 1/9/2015
The program is a byproduct of a $24 million infrastructure upgrade at the plant that is due for completion next year. According to the Riverhead News-Review, the program — a joint endeavor between town and county government — was first discussed in the 1980s and has been planned since 2004. Up until the plant's upgrade, however, wastewater could not be treated to a level suitable for irrigation. Watering will be done at night when the course is empty to limit any odors noticeable to golfers.
Indian Island is one of four Suffolk County-operated municipal golf courses. Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon is also located beside a sewage treatment plant.