During the period of time that the Village of Great Neck and the Water Pollution Control District were studying whether it would be most cost-efficient to divert their combined sewage flows to the county facility at Cedar Creek, to combine their two plants or to simply upgrade each plant separately to meet the state's requirements to drastically reduce the nitrogen in the treated effluent released into Manhasset Bay by 2014, various design elements were discussed. It became clear from the studies that upgrading each plant would be more practical, efficient and prudent.

Deputy Mayor Ralph Kreitzman stated at a trustees meeting that he had remembered that during the studies, the engineers from both the village and the district had said that hooking up the sewage from the village's plant to the district plant would be the least expensive aspect of the changeover, a pipe running under East Shore Road that would cost about $800,000. The district already needed such a new pipe anyway, but it was not at the top of its priority list. Mr. Kreitzman suggested to his fellow board members and the mayor that if the village diverted its sewage to the district during the time of constructing its new facility, it could greatly reduce the time involved in construction, which would translate into significant savings estimated to be between $1 million to $3 million.

The board gave him the go-ahead to explore the idea further.

Due to the fact that the parcel of land where the village's plant is located is a small one, construction in piecemeal fashion while keeping the plant operating would present logistical problems that could be avoided if a temporary diversion could be accomplished. It is anticipated that the outside time for construction would be 18 months, but could be less.

The village and the district are now involved in serious negotiations on the matter. The parties involved agree that there is the possibility that such an arrangement could be a "win-win" situation for everyone, but there are many details to be ironed out.

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.

If negotiations between the two entities are successful, the current people employed by the village sewer department could concentrate on a primary function, servicing the miles of pipelines that can become clogged with grease, tree roots and debris that gets flushed inappropriately.