Flooding Strands Vehicles Near Huntington Sewage Treatment Plant

HALESITE, NY — As Long Island was swamped by the remnants of Hurricane Ida on Wednesday night, the area near the Huntington Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on Creek Road was turned into a makeshift pool. Several motorists, including a police vehicle, were caught in the deluge, according to the Town of Huntington.

A payloader was needed to access the facility during the storm.

"We actually had to take a payloader out to the Creek Road entrance to bring one of our employees into the plant last night," said John Clark, the town’s director of environmental waste management, via a news release.

A police officer had to be extracted via boat by the Huntington Fire Department, Clark said.

Steve Jappell, a wastewater treatment plant operator at the STP facility, operated the payloader and helped fellow employee Joe Lombardo enter the facility. Jappell also used the payloader to assist the officer, who was rescued via the boat.

"Thank you to the Huntington Fire Department, as well as Centerport, Halesite and Northport Fire Departments, who also arrived to assist other stranded motorists on Creek Road, and to our quick-thinking staff at the plant," Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci said.

The Huntington STP saw what it called its largest rain event in nearly 20 years, as 6.29 inches of rain fell between 7 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. At one point during the peak of high tide, STP staff were unable to gain access to the plant from the main entrance on Creek Road, which was flooded, nor from the back entrance near the Mill Dam gates.

The STP processed more than 3.8 million gallons of sewage from 6 a.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Thursday. A standard volume is approximately 1.8 million gallons per day. The STP will continue to experience above-average flow rates over the next two days as groundwater intrusion and sump pump activity contribute to the increased volumes, according to the town.

"We have been making significant infrastructure improvements at our STP which allow us to better handle the operational impact brought on by storms," Lupinacci said. "We inherited an aging infrastructure with breached sewer mains that make up the nearly 35 miles of our collection system. Rising groundwater and seeping stormwater enter the mains and wind up at the STP, as well as illegal connections that discharge into our sewer mains. We have and will continue to invest in technology to help us rectify these issues to ensure volumes are manageable and our water stays clean."