Outdated Septic Systems at State Parks to be Replaced

New York State Parks announced Monday that septic systems at five Suffolk County state parks, including Robert Moses, will be replaced. 

An engineering review preliminarily concluded that 30 septic systems–out of 100–at Belmont Lake, Heckscher, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow, and Wildwood state parks that were installed several decades ago are not in compliance with current septic treatment standards. 

“State Parks takes its stewardship of parks and their environment seriously and handles all non-compliance with top priority,” Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said in a statement.  “Upon discovering a potential issue with the septic systems at our parks, we took aggressive steps to investigate and are developing solutions that will comply with environmental standards while maintaining crucial services for millions of visitors to these parks.”

The outdated systems pose no threat to the public, but parks officials say the upgrades will assure that all septic systems comply with current standards within three years.  The cost of installing replacement systems is not yet known, but is expected to be in excess of $5 million.