Southampton mayor outlines wastewater plant plan, dog-park move and $3.4 million CPF property purchase

Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger said the village is advancing a long-discussed wastewater treatment project intended to replace existing cesspools and septic systems in the central business district.

"Right now, the central business district in Southampton only has cesspools and septic systems," Manger said, describing nitrogen and other effluents that he said have contributed to blue-green algae in Lake Agawam. He framed a closed wastewater plant as necessary to "clean the effluents before it's released into the ground," improving water quality for the lake, groundwater and coastal waters.

Manger said village planners identified a site behind the police station, courthouse and ambulance barn where the treatment building would sit below grade, with a nearby park area used as an underground leaching field. To preserve recreational space at the surface, he proposed relocating the current dog park onto the property now occupied by the Southampton Press, which the village intends to acquire.

"We actually have identified land that the village already owns... We found land behind the ambulance barn where we can actually put the building that would house in a closed structure the wastewater treatment plant," Manger said. He added the village would not disturb the parksurface and that the relocated dog park would be contiguous with the Rogers Memorial Library.

Manger said the village would acquire replacement park land with Community Preservation Fund money and estimated the purchase at about $3.4 million. "They came to me and said, we would be willing to sell this to the village...to help you in your endeavor," he said.

He acknowledged opposition. "A few people are complaining. We do have a lawsuit to contend with," Manger said, but added the village will continue because the project is "essential" to environmental improvement and to enabling additional workforce housing in the village center.

The mayor said the plan aims to reopen second-floor apartments that have been shut down for inadequate wastewater systems, expanding housing options for teachers, volunteer first responders and other local workers. He emphasized the plant would be enclosed and would not produce surface odors.

Next steps described by Manger included site acquisition and continued public engagement; he did not provide a construction timetable or permit milestones in this interview.

Manger also said the plants cleaned effluent would be nearly potable and that managing nitrogen will reduce releases of contaminated lake water to the ocean during high-water events.

Ending: The mayor said the village will proceed despite legal challenges and that the wastewater project is central to environmental goals and to easing housing pressures in the downtown area.