April 29, 2013 By Sid Cassese

2013

The dechlorination facility at Nassau County’s Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant has earned the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Diamond Award for design and operation.

The $5 million facility was completed about 18 months ago. The project that reused existing plant facilities was the first such installation in the nation. Dechlorination removes residual chlorine from disinfected wastewater before it is discharged into the environment.

“This prestigious Diamond Award illustrates the progress my administration made toward improving the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant before Hurricane Sandy,” County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement. “The new dechlorination facility, designed by engineering firm Malcolm Pirnie Inc., enabled the County to meet strict new effluent guidelines that help protect our environment and waterways.”

The new facility greatly automated operations and allowed for the more efficient deployment of county workers, officials said. The project is estimated to have saved taxpayers $11 million while also protecting the environment and local waterways.

Mangano added, “My administration will continue to . . . improve and repair the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant. Nassau County has an obligation to not only the users of the plant, but also its neighbors and our environment and local waterways.”

But Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment cautioned: “There is no reason to celebrate. The plant needs to be upgraded with an ocean outflow pipe.”

Robert Weltner, president of the environmental group Operation SPLASH, said that while he agrees with Esposito on the outflow pipe, “The dechlorination facility is a move in the right direction.”