Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader John M. Kennedy Jr. (12th District) announced that the Suffolk County Department of Public Works has begun restoration of two recharge basins that service the Terry Road area in Nesconset.
Under Resolutions 255 and 256, adopted March 22 and signed April 5, the Suffolk County Legislature bonded and appropriated $250,000 in funding for improvements to county environmental recharge basins. As a result of Legislator Kennedy’s advocacy, basins prioritized by the Suffolk County of Public Works for restoration include those at the corner of Hallock Avenue and Route 347 and the corner of Annetta Avenue and Terry Road.
These Nesconset sumps provide for collection and recharge of runoff from County Road 16. However, as a result of heavy rainfall during the winter and early spring of 2010, groundwater in the sumps rose up to surface level, causing the basins to become chronically flooded. In addition to groundwater flooding, foliage growth in the sumps over time has decreased their recharge capacity, as the plant roots retain silt, causing sediment buildup in the basin.
The goal of the DPW’s efforts on the Hallock and Annetta sumps is to restore the recharge basins to their original capacity. When work began on the Hallock sump earlier this month, the groundwater level was roughly only half a foot below ground level at the bottom of the basin, which is about nine feet below grade. In the ensuing weeks, DPW personnel have been pulling out dead trees in an effort to clear the basin.
“These long-overdue sump restorations are critical components of a long-term solution to the chronic flooding conditions that have plagued this community for the better part of the last 50 years,” Legislator Kennedy said. “I will continue to work with the Department of Public Works to effectuate similar improvements to other county sumps in the area.”
