EAST ROCKAWAY- CSEA Local 830 officials, including DPW Unit President Bob Campo, walked through Bay Park Sewage Treatment Facility on March 9. Also on the tour were new Nassau County Legislator and Vice Chair of the Public Works Committee Howard Kopel, along with Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino, and local civic association officials. 

 

Bay Park is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week facility that treats an average flow of 70 million gallons per day of wastewater from Queens to the Meadowbrook Parkway encompassing 550,000 people. The effluent of the plant is discharged into local waterway, Reynolds Channel via a 2.3 mile long outfall pipeline. Treatment processes in use are preliminary/primary treatment, secondary treatment, sludge thickening, digestion, and dewatering, disinfection, power generation, and odor control.

 

Just like Cedar Creek there are approximately 80 workers at Bay Park, with the budget calling for 100. On March 1, a non-competitive job opportunity was posted for both Plant Maintenance Mechanic Trainee, and Plant Maintenance Mechanic I.

 

 

Odor control is one of the main concerns of the facility according to Kopel and Santino, not just to the workers, but the outlying residents. An RFP for evaluation of all odor controls that are on site should arrive before the legislature within 2-3 months, with a 6-9 month study to follow. At that point, there will be a better idea of if the odors are at acceptable levels, and if they are not, why that is the case.

 

 

During the 90 minute tour, officials were able to see the main control office, grit tanks, effluent building, aeration tanks, and much more.  CSEA thanks Bay Park officials for the opportunity to tour the facility, and looks to future hiring to handle the pending issues that remain at Bay Park.