Most people sitting down to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast last week gave little thought, much less thanks, for being on a working sewage system. It is only disasters like Katrina in the Gulf or the multitude of hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 that remind us of how thin the line between us and third world countries really is when it comes to having adequate sanitation systems in place and abundant potable water.

During the two and a half years of public meetings and hearings that resulted in the Village of Great Neck taking action in the spring of 2004 to change the zoning on East Shore Road from industrial to mixed use, the question of diverting the sewage from the two treatment plants on the corridor to Nassau County's Cedar Creek facility in Wantagh became a lightening rod issue.

The Old Village's interest to make the waterfront area more accessible and attractive to upscale development coincided with the New York State Department of Conservation's mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the output of nitrogen into Long Island Sound by 58 percent by 2014. From the DEC's perspective, the diversion of Great Neck's sewage to Cedar Creek would instantly change the daily output of nitrogen from a combined daily average for the two plants from 672 pounds per day to zero. (Keep in mind that New York City releases 15,000 pounds of nitrogen in to Long Island Sound every day.) Even if both plants upgraded for "de-nitrification" of their treated effluent, they would not be able to totally eliminate nitrogen from their output; therefore, the diversion alternative was something of a "magic button."

The Village of Great Neck system is designed to handle 1.5 million gallons of sewage a day; the plant currently treats 860,000 gallons per day. The Water Pollution Control District is designed to treat 3.8 million gallons per day, but currently treats 2.6 million gallons a day. The treated effluent from the plants is combined and released into the mouth of Manhasset Bay while the remaining sludge is trucked away to designated sites.

At the time when the diversion controversy was sprouting wings, cost estimates were freely flying. Then mayor Stephen Falk stated that the cost to upgrade both plants was $30 million while the cost to divert to Cedar Creek was $20 million; in his words "a no-brainer." Others were not quite as sure of the numbers. And at the time Deena Lesser, a commissioner and chairperson of the Water Pollution Control District stated that due to improvements in technology, since the last time de-nitrification was studied, she wanted firmer verification of the cost estimates for both alternatives. She added, "We want to make sure we take the route that is the most cost conscious and environmentally sound."

However, the Department of Environmental Conservation had awarded two grants to the village and the district for diversion only. In June of 2003 the plants received the nod that the state would pick up the tab for specific design plans for diversion through the Long Island Sound Restoration Act for $3,406,205. Waiting in the wings was a grant for $15,362,050 through the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act for the actual construction phase for diversion.

The $3.4 million grant is to provide detailed engineering plans and bid documents and to uncover any and all evident and hidden costs for diversion. Accepting a grant and actually beginning to use the money can be a lengthy process involving combing through detailed legal documents and work plans before signing off.

For the past year and a half, the district and village have been involved in a delicate dance with the DEC to make sure that the final decision about diversion would be in the hands of the village and the district and to try to persuade the state to allow some of the $3.4 million to be used to study the costs of upgrading the plants. In addition, the village and the district had to agree on how they would share the costs of diversion construction if that became the final plan of choice.

In a letter dated Nov. 30, 2004 from Sandra Allen, director, Division of Water in the Albany headquarters for the DEC, she stated that the funds could only be used to determine diversion costs and that if the district and the village wanted to study upgrades for their respective plants, they would need to apply and compete for another grant when monies became available with no guarantees of success.

The district commissioners decided to proceed with the original grant, but to meanwhile study the costs of upgrading independently so that the two alternatives could be evaluated objectively.

As things stand now, the final decision about diversion will be in the hands of local authorities rather than the state. The village and the district recently reached an agreement regarding how they will share the costs of diversion if that becomes reality. They will also further explore the feasibility of combining both sewage treatment plants and upgrading them to reduce their nitrogen output.

How would diversion work? First, it is important to understand that even if our sewage were diverted to Cedar Creek, the two sewage treatment plants would not be out of business. They would still be responsible for maintaining the miles of pipes that bring the raw sewage to the plants, some which flow by gravity, but most that use electricity to pump the waste water to the plants. This operation alone requires time, money and staff because these pipes can become clogged with grease, trees roots and debris that should not, but does get flushed.

Both plants would still need settling vats where the grit is removed from the brew. In addition, large storage tanks would be needed to contain the sewage during peak flow times and during emergencies. So, there would be construction and demolition costs at both plants.

Trenches for main pipes leading out of Great Neck would be dug and the sewage would be forced up the hill on Northern Blvd. running through Manhasset and eventually connecting with the main interceptor in Roslyn which hooked up to Cedar Creek some years ago. There was talk three years ago of utilizing a technology called "trenchless" meaning that pipes could be installed through a process of horizontal drilling instead of digging. Presumably, the $3.4 million study would explore that option.

It is likely that the residents of Manhasset, whose homes and businesses are on septic systems, will insist on public hearings to deal with the disruptions in traffic during construction and safety measures to prevent backups and accidents. The two Great Neck entities would be responsible for maintaining these additional pipes as well as increased pumping costs. According to Ms. Lesser, energy costs have risen 25 percent in a short period of time and there are concerns that additional pumping, generators and lift stations that use electricity and fuel would be unpredictable cost factors.

Since there has been no formal application made to Nassau County regarding connecting to the Roslyn interceptor, it is unknown whether the piping, pumping facilities and emergency generators in Roslyn are adequate for the additional flow from Great Neck. Those additional engineering costs, if any, will be factored into the results of the $3.4 million study.

The county would set the rate for how much to charge the town and the village based on the volume of flow and the town and village would recalculate these fees adding in the costs of the plants' maintenance to determine how much to charge the taxpayers. That is why the two entities are concerned about any potential financial woes at Cedar Creek and a loss of control if they became more dependent on Nassau County.

According to Peter Gerbasi, Nassau County Deputy Executive of Public Works and Parks, the concerns about unexpected major projects and problems at Cedar Creek are unjustified since the county has a four-year planning process that anticipates needed capital improvement projects that are bonded and are paid for by all Nassau County taxpayers. Recent labor disputes at Cedar Creek have resulted in the county's promise that 20 more employees will be hired to resolve some issues regarding the health and safety of its work conditions and preventative maintenance that were the topics in recent hearings by the county legislature. The staffing had dropped through attrition from 125 in 1985 to 78 today.

Cedar Creek has the capacity to treat 76 million gallons of sewage a day; currently it processes 55 million gallons per day and releases the treated effluent some two miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the dilution effect of the ocean, nitrogen is not removed at either of the South Shore facilities.

Christine Marzigliano who chairs a citizen watchdog group, the Cedar Creek Health Risk Assessment Committee, says that the other plant, Bay Park is near capacity and that if there is significant development at the proposed hub near the Nassau County Coliseum or the Bellmore Army base, more demands would be placed on Cedar Creek. Cedar Creek, situated on a 50-acre tract of land, has room for expansion while Bay Park located in Far Rockaway is built to the maximum of its existing space.

Cedar Creek has two miles of tunnels running under the sprawling complex and much of its equipment is located below ground as well. A level II supervisor at the facility told the Record that if a "doomsday" hurricane hit the Island, salt water would flood the system and the facility would be out of business indefinitely. This fear and the lessons learned from Florida and New Orleans have led to considerations on the part of the decision makers that redundancy might be a good thing, that having our own sewage treatment plants might not be such a bad deal after all and that perhaps it might be more environmentally sound to avoid having all our "eggs" in one basket, namely Cedar Creek.