New York State has awarded the Suffolk County Water Authority and East Hampton Town a $9.7 million grant to help pay to connect more than 400 homes in Wainscott to water mains to protect residents from groundwater contaminated with chemical compounds believed to be hazardous.
The main installations have already begun with funding from East Hampton Town, which will tax residents to recoup the costs of connecting their individual properties to the mains.
“That is help that we welcome as a small town confronted with water quality issues.
Water samples from 230 wells in southern Wainscott have been found to contain at least trace amounts of PFOS and PFOA, chemicals that were commonly used in fire-retardant foams for decades and have been found in water supplies surrounding airports around the nation.
The town has been supplying bottled water to Wainscott homeowners since last fall, has paid for some to install charcoal filtration systems, and has pledged to front the estimated $24 million cost of installing water mains to all homes south of East Hampton Airport.
The town will recoup the cost of connecting each individual home to the mains, amortized over 10 years, through town tax bills.
The town will be offering the amortized payment for connections until 2020, after which time a property owner would have to arrange for the hook-up and payment with SCWA directly.
Mr. Van Scoyoc lamented on Tuesday that even though the contamination and water testing has been widely publicized, there are still 91 property owners who have not had their wells tested for contamination.
“If you live in Wainscott south of the airport, you really should have your water tested,” he said.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting an investigation of possible sources of the contaminants and is expected to release a report on its finding later this month.