Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Fund

Dec 30

On November 5, 2024, Suffolk County voters secured a clean water future as they helped to pass Ballot Proposition 2, the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act. This ensured long-term funding, which is expected to generate $3 billion over the next several decades to modernize existing septic systems and wastewater infrastructure.

Suffolk County is sustained by the waters that surround us. We swim, fish, and boat in our bays and harbors and get our drinking water from the sole source aquifer beneath our feet. We’re drawn here by spectacular beaches, idyllic parks and preserves, and are nourished by local farms and fisheries. But our way of life is at risk due to pollution in our water.

Scientific research shows that nitrogen pollution from untreated sewage is suffocating our bays and harbors and is in our drinking water. The harmful effects of excess nitrogen are far reaching—from beach closings, fish kills, and harmful algal blooms to possible linkages to cancer. Restoring clean, healthy water requires drastically reducing nitrogen pollution from its main source, Suffolk County’s existing 380,000 nitrogen-polluting cesspools and septic systems. The good news is that today’s high-tech septic systems can significantly reduce the overabundance of nitrogen that flows into East End waters every day.

Recognizing the critical importance of protecting our bays, harbors, and drinking water, the Group spent more than a decade working with a broad coalition of clean water advocates to push for a comprehensive wastewater strategy, proper updates and reforms to wastewater regulations, the advancement of new technology, and a stable and recurring revenue source to appropriately fund the program over time.

In November 2024, the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act was on the ballot as Proposition 2. An amazing 72% of Suffolk County residents voted in favor, effectively approving long-term funding dedicated exclusively to clean water infrastructure.

As of December 2025, the fund has already collected nearly $40 million in revenue!

This fund is paid for by an 1/8-of-a-penny increase to the county sales tax, which amounts to just 12.5 cents per $100 purchase. It will only be used to pay for septic and wastewater improvements in Suffolk County, including tax-free grants for homeowners who replace their septic systems with modernized systems capable of effectively treating nitrogen. This helps to make the replacements more affordable for residents.

The Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act will safeguard our way of life, improve public health, and protect the waters we depend on. The establishment of the fund will also help unlock federal and state funding to help with clean water projects across Suffolk County, including throughout the East End. These projects will restore our local bays and harbors, create thousands of good jobs, and revitalize business districts.

Several East End towns also provide tax-free grants to homeowners who replace their septic systems. These grants can be combined with Suffolk County’s grants that are funded by the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Fund and New York State.

See if you qualify for funding:

Suffolk County’s ”Reclaim Our Water” Septic Improvement Program
Suffolk County Department of Health Services
631-852-5811
septicdemo@suffolkcountyny.gov

Town of Southampton
Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund Office
631-287-5720
septicrebate@southamptonny.gov

Town of East Hampton
Town of East Hampton Department of Natural Resources
631-324-0496
septicrebate@ehamptonny.gov

Town of Shelter Island
Water Quality Advisory Committee
631-749-0758
cthuman@shelterislandtown.gov