As part of its continuing effort to improve water service for domestic use and fire protection, the Water Authority of Western Nassau County (the "Water Authority") will be installing approximately 2,600 feet of new 12-inch cement-mortar lined ductile iron pipe.

This project involves the installation of a new transmission main in Celler Avenue in New Hyde Park from the Water Authority pumping station on Soma Street to an existing transmission main on Hillside Avenue.  There are two (2) wells at the pump station which presently pump into an 8-inch distribution main on Soma Street from 10-inch discharge piping at the station.  This existing piping configuration creates a bottleneck and a disturbance of the flow by introducing a large amount of water into a smaller main.  This project, once completed, will allow both wells at the station to be pumped at the same time – something that cannot be done with the existing 8-inch water main.  It will also provide a way to move water to other areas of our service territory when needed, provide a better water flow and decrease the possibility of discolored water in the area when the wells at the station are turned on or shutdown.

This installation project is scheduled to start on or about September 13th, 2017.  Work each day will begin at 8:00 AM and end at 5:00 PM, at which time all construction will have been completed and the road opened for traffic.  The work is being performed by the Water Authority's board approved contractor, Merrick Utility Associates.  During the installation certain customers may experience brief service disruptions, temporary changes in water pressure, or slight water discoloration.  Any customer whose water service must be temporarily interrupted will be notified in advance by Water Authority employees with more specific door hangers placed at each affected customers' residence.  Water discoloration, when experienced, is usually of short duration and is easily cleared by briefly running the cold water for approximately 5 minutes.

Merrick Utility Associates is under contract to remove all debris on the project as well as to complete temporary and permanent road repairs.  The jobsite will also be cleaned up at the end of each workday.  Upon completion of the installation of the new water main and the subsequent inspection and approval, the contractor will complete final road, sidewalk and sod restoration.  In order to assure that all areas disturbed by the construction are restored to their original condition, and for the protection of the customers' property, the Water Authority will be videotaping the entire jobsite including curb and sidewalk areas prior to the start of construction.

The sequence of construction and approximate length of time to complete each step is:
1.    Three weeks for the installation of the new water main.
2.    One day for pressure testing and leakage testing of the new water main.
3.    One day to perform disinfection of the new water main.
4.    One day to perform flushing and bacteriological sampling of the new main.
5.    Three days for laboratory testing of bacteriological samples.
6.    Depending on the results of the bacteriological tests, steps 3, 4 and 5 may be repeated.
7.    Three days to receive approval from the Nassau County Department of Health to place the new water main in service.
8.    Two days to perform final water main tie-ins.
9.    Five days for restoration and final clean up.

Since various phases of the project will be performed concurrently, the entire project should take approximately six (6) weeks of construction work to complete if the installation proceeds smoothly and no unusual circumstances are encountered.  At no time during the construction should any customer be without water for more than eight (8) hours.  As stated previously, any customer whose water service must be temporarily interrupted will be notified in advance by the Water Authority.

For further information or questions on this project, please contact the Water Authority at (516) 327-4100.