As the summer heat has risen, so have NSWCA activities.  Coincidence? Sign of the times?  Marks of the season? Connected or not,  the NSWCA has sponsored or been a part of several industry-wide and state-wide events, and hosted professional training sessions on water issues ranging from compliance to legal, to accounting and product information.The NSWCA recently received a number of renowned guests at regularly scheduled meetings including:

• Matthew Myers, Long Island Regional Supervisor/Bureau of Public Works at New York State Department of Labor. The Department of Labor plays a major role in strengthening New York State’s economy by connecting job seekers to jobs, supporting businesses in hiring, assisting the unemployed and protecting workers. That is the agency’s mission.
• Marc Herbst Executive Director of the LI Contractor’s Association (LICA) located in Hauppauge, NY. The Long Island Contractors’ Association, Inc. (LICA), is a nationally regarded advocacy organization that seeks increased funding of our region’s infrastructure.
• Michael Ingham,  partner in Carman, Callahan & Ingham,  LLC (Farmingdale, NY) and General Counsel to the Long Island Water Conference (LIWC). Mike has been general counsel to several local municipalities for many years and specializes in complex insurance coverage litigation and Appellate Practice.
  
  

L To R: Commissioners Bill Schuckmann (Hicksville), Michael F. Rich III (Oyster Bay) and Andrew N. Bader (Plainview),  Mr. Matthew Myers.

L To R: Commissioners Kenneth P. Wenthen, Jr. (West Hempstead),Michael F. Rich (Oyster Bay), Andrew N. Bader (Plainview),  Mr. Marc Herbst, Commissioner Bill Schuckmann (Hicksville), Michael Ingham and Commissioner Vincent Abbatiello (Westbury).

On July 7, the Greenlawn Water District turns 90 years old, 90 years of success providing Mother Nature’s greatest natural resource to the residents of the District! The Greenlawn Water District has served residents ever since 1927 when Calvin Coolidge was President, Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic, and Babe Ruth slugged 60 homers. Since then the District has delivered the highest quality water virtually without interruption by hurricanes, hard winters and even Superstorm Sandy!

Congratulations to the entire staff of the GWD, Commissioners Bill Wieck, John McLaughlin and Jim Logan, and Superintendent Bob Santoriello on a job well done!

Farmingdale State College recently hosted the 32nd Annual Long Island Water Conference (LIWC) Best Tasting Water Contest, and the Franklin Square Water District (FSWD) took top honors as the best tasting tap water in Nassau County.

Photo:  Left to right:  Commissioner Ralph Pugliese, Assemblyman Edward P. Ra, Commissioner Madeline Presta, Commissioner Salvatore A. Intagliata, District Superintendent John Hughes.

“We are extremely proud to receive this honor,” said FSWD Water Commissioner Ralph D. Pugliese. “It is a testament to the dedication of the entire staff of the District who work tirelessly to ensure quality and compliance for some 20,000 customers. District Superintendent John Hughes and my fellow Water Commissioners, Salvatore A. Intagliata and Madeline F. Presta are extremely pleased to receive this honor.”

Photo:  Left to right:  Commissioner Ralph Pugliese, Commissioner Madeline Presta, Dennis Kelleher H2M,  Commissioner Salvatore A. Intagliata.

Commissioner Pugliese, a past President of the Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association (NSWCA), also noted that the District’s mission has always been “to be vigilant in protecting our water quality and Long Island’s single source aquifer, as well as to promote conservation and sustainability. We work around the clock to provide top quality water to every tap via an infrastructure that includes 42 miles of water mains. This award recognizes those efforts.”

Edward P. Ra, Assemblyman of the 19^th District, also attended the informal ceremony at The Franklin Square Water District.

Each year during National Drinking Water Week, the LIWC invites Long Island residents to sample tap water from Nassau and Suffolk water suppliers in a blind taste test. Franklin Square received the most votes from the hundreds of contest participants. In addition, water experts were at the event to educate the public regarding the source(s) of their water and the invaluable importance of water quality, conservation and sustainability.

The Franklin Square Water District has delivered an uninterrupted supply of the highest quality water to residents since 1923, meeting or exceeding all New York State and Federal regulations, as well as industry standards.

Congratulations are in order for the Albertson Water District.  A century is quite a long time, and continually delivering a plentiful supply of high quality water for 100 years requires the concentrated efforts of generations of dedicated public servants and certainly deserves recognition.  Happy Birthday AWD!

Over the past ten decades, so many people have contributed to the District’s success. Congratulations to the current staff of the AWD, Commissioners Howard Abbondondelo, Richard Ockovic and Kenneth Vey, and Superintendent Rudolph Henriksen, on a job well done!

What does the planet do with electronic waste? It’s a perplexing problem that is reaching unfathomed proportions. Certainly we need the electronic products…everything from computers to keyboards to printers, etc., but when they’re outmoded or no longer wanted, where do they go? What do we do with them?  Often they go into landfills and pose environmental threats by putting dangerous elements into the landfill that future generations will have to deal with. That does not bode well and must be dealt with.

A recent NSWCA meeting hosted by Greenlawn Water District Commissioners John McLaughlin, Bill Wieck and Jim Logan featured guest speaker and environmental recycling authority Mr. Philip Fava.  Mr. Fava is President and CEO of eGreen Recycling Management (Coram, NY) http://egreenrecyclingmanagement.com and former Co-Chair of NY Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI).  In stressing the importance of recycling he stated, “Our society produces incomprehensible amounts of recyclable waste, from ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal to plastic scrap, cardboard and paper, and precious metals. What happens to universal waste like batteries, light bulbs or e-waste such as computers, scanners and printers when they are no longer wanted? We must account for and recycle it all.”

Mr. Fava also zeroed in on electronic e-waste. “The importance of erasing hard drives securely and completely to remove all data from storage devices can’t be understated.” He noted that eGreen Recycling “provides detailed reporting of erasure and auditable, verifiable assurance that all data was sanitized in compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and all other existing standards”. The meeting concluded with a lively question and  answer session.

L to R:  Andrew Bader, Ray Averna, Philip Fava of eWasteRecycling, Vin Abbatiello, Bill Schuckmann.

The NSWCA was well represented at  the March 10 2017 Long Island Legislative Breakfast  with virtually all Districts attending despite the snow fall.  Stan Carey, Chairman LIWC and Massapequa WD Superintendent  provided welcoming remarks to the group, and Paul Granger Legislative Committee Co-Chair LIWC and Port Washington WD Superintendent provided Legislative Remarks.

The Keynote Address was delivered by NYS Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker and Carrie Meek Gallagher NYS Department of of Environmental Conservation made an informative presentation to the assemblage.

NSWCA President Andrew Bader, Water Commissioner of the Plainview WD, provided closing remarks.

 The Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association began a six-part Special Training Series with an initial session on Water Commissioner Management. Municipal law expert Michael F. Ingham, Esq. of Carman, Callahan & Ingham LLP (Farmingdale, NY) addressed the audience on the topic. Forthcoming training sessions are scheduled throughout 2017 and include:

• Financial Administration
• Code of Ethic/Conflicts of Interest
• Freedom Of Information (FOIL) /Open Meetings Law
• NYS Prevailing Wage Overview & Wicks Law
• Election Law and Miscellaneous Administrative Items

Left to right:  William Schuckmann NSWCA Secretary (Hicksville WD); 2nd Vice President Michael F. Rich (Oyster Bay WD); President Andrew Bader (Plainview WD); Guest speaker Michael F. Ingham, Esquire; 1st Vice President Vincent Abbatiello (Westbury WD).

At a recent Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association (NSWCA) meeting hosted by Jericho Water District Commissioners Anthony J. Cincotta, Thomas A. Abbate, James Asmus and District Superintendent Peter F. Logan, guest speaker Mr. Andrew McLoughlin from Mueller Co. presented a program on water quality sampling from dedicated sample points in distribution networks.  This was followed by a question and answer period. Commissioners from the 21 water districts that comprise the NSWCA were in attendance.

Left To Right, Jericho Water District Superintendent Peter F. Logan, Jericho Water District Commissioners Thomas A. Abbate, Anthony J. Cincotta and James Asmus.

Mr. McLoughlin advanced the benefits of using a dedicated sampling point for collection of water quality samples, including a higher degree of control, ease of collection, lower risk of recording a positive sample, and getting a sample that is a true representation of water quality. He discussed aspects of warm and cold climate sample stations and delved into internal construction, including use of low lead brass and stainless steel, freeze protection and locking enclosure options.  “Our models are built of durable construction designed for all climates, thus preserving the integrity of sampling environments,” McLoughlin stated. “Mueller is dedicated  to achieving the highest standards of quality and safety for all Mueller products  when it comes to our drinking water.”  

“I thank Mr. McLoughlin for his very informative, in-depth presentation,” Andrew N. Bader, President of the NSWCA and Plainview Water Commissioner said. “As stewards of the water supply and protects of our sole source aquifer  here on Long Island, NSWCA members are always eager to learn about new and innovative ideas as part of our ongoing Water Conservation and Sustainability Educational Series.”