Bethpage Water District plans to spend about $17 million to shut down three well sites that are drawing from groundwater plumes and drill new water-supply wells outside the boundaries of the area of industrial contamination, which has plagued the system for decades.
The district currently has nine wells at six locations.
“We’re looking for long-term sustainability.” The district has spent roughly $17 million over the decades to build treatment plants to remove volatile organic chemicals and other contaminants that have been traced back to a 600-acre site in Bethpage where the Navy and what is now Northrop Grumman researched, tested and manufactured airplanes and space exploration equipment from the 1930s to 1990s.
The source of the radium has not been established, but the 1,4-dioxane is a compound that has been identified as part of the Navy/Grumman plumes.
“This is our future,” Boufis said.
The plan to move wells out of the plumes is the latest step in a long saga.
“It could change the hydrogeology but it would be something we’d keep our eye on.” Bethpage’s plans make the need to clean up contaminants all the more urgent, said Stan Carey, superintendent of Massapequa Water District.
The study does encompass all the sites that provide drinking water, treat contaminants and monitor water quality, said Martin Brand, DEC’s deputy commissioner for remediation and materials management.
“They’re designed for drinking water.” Bethpage Water District Serves 33,000 people in a 5-square-mile area Six plants, or sites, host nine wells.
The plan: Shut down five wells at three sites within the plume Add another well at an existing site Drill two new wells outside plume boundaries.