As part of the massive upgrade of the Riverhead sewer system that has been ongoing since April 2014, treated effluent or “gray water” from the Riverhead Sewer Plant will be recycled in order to irrigate the adjacent Indian Island Golf Course, which is owned by the county.
In the culmination of a plan that’s been under discussion for almost thirty years, Riverhead Town Board has declared its plans to sign an inter-municipal agreement which will allow Riverhead workers to hook into the irrigation system already in place at the golf course, making a precious commodity out of what would otherwise be waste water. Suffolk County officials have already signed the agreement.
“The idea is to reduce nitrogen loading going into the Peconic Estuary in order to have a beneficial reuse next door,” said town sewer district superintendent Michael Reichel. Golf courses nationwide are increasingly using effluent water for irrigation because of concerns about conserving water.
Until now, the Riverhead treatment plant didn’t treat sewage effluent at a level high enough to allow the treated water to be used on the golf course. Once the $24 million sewer system upgrade is completed in 2016, however, it will be at a level safe for irrigation. In addition, says Mr. Reichel, the “treated effluent will actually be cleaner than the groundwater there, because that water is high in iron.”
Officials say this innovative plan will be a “trend setter,” setting a useful precedent for other municipalities on and off Long Island to copy.