Some L.I. Residents Ordered To Conserve Water After Sewage Plant Failure
BAY PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Nassau County executive Edward Mangano on Tuesday evening ordered some residents to conserve water, as a major sewage facility for the Long Island county has been shut down following Superstorm Sandy.
The Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant sustained a critical infrastructure failure during the superstorm and is shut down, according to a news release. The sewage plant primarily serves residents living south of the Long Island Expressway, from the boundary with Queens west to the Meadowbrook Parkway, with the exceptions of Cedarhurst and Lawrence.
Those served by the Bay Park Sewage District have been placed under a Conserve Water Order. They are to limit water use immediately, and may not water their lawns or wash their cars.
Residents are also directed to shorten shower time, and limit flushing toilets.
Meanwhile, the Nassau County Department of Health advises avoiding contact with sewage, which might back up at sewer covers and basement drains. The health department also advises wearing gloves and using soap and water for any required cleanup from sewage, and disinfecting everything that might have come into contact with sewage with a 10 percent household bleach solution.
Items that cannot be cleaned must be thrown away.
Anyone with sewage backup should call (888) 684-4274.
Long Beach was among the communities without sewer service. It was also without water or electricity.
At least 10 homes were destroyed by fires, D'Auria reported.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said 15,000 to 20,000 people in Long Beach did not obey mandatory evacuation orders.
He urged the residents to leave the city on the southern coast of Long Island and stay with friends or in one of several Red Cross shelters open in the area.
The main drag, Broadway, goes along the Atlantic Ocean in Long Beach, and it was reduced to nothing but sand, CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported. Most of the town was likewise covered in sand.
"All of our units that we tried to board up and tried to protect ourselves, it breached, and water came through so fast, no one even had time get downstairs and get anything out," said one neighbor, Laura.
"Our neighbor next door, I said, 'If you have any mementoes, go downstairs and get them.' In minutes, he fell, he slipped, got his pictures first, and got out of the house. It was bad. It was scary."
On Tuesday night, Long Beach had no electricity, no water, and no sewers. And the town's city hall looked like an army encampment, with National Guard troops, state troopers and local police officers, alongside buses lined up to allow people to escape.
Within New York State, Long Island took the brunt of the burden of Superstorm Sandy. Power was knocked out to power being knocked out to nearly 930,000 customers, roughly 90 percent of the area's utility customers. The Long Island Power Authority said it could take seven to 10 days to restore service.
Police said the damage throughout Long Island has not yet been assessed, but parts of it were still underwater Tuesday night.
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