The Brookhaven Highway Department has received a $293,000 grant from New York State to support water quality improvement efforts. The funding comes through the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Water Quality Improvement Project program and will be used to acquire equipment aimed at reducing road salt usage and preventing contamination of local surface waters.
With this grant, the department plans to purchase plow guards and brine sprayers. These tools are expected to enhance winter road maintenance by allowing for more precise application of brine and extending the life of snow plow blades. This approach is intended to decrease salt-laden runoff into nearby surface waters and limit salt intrusion into groundwater.
“Adding brine-spreading applicators to our existing arsenal of winter road maintenance equipment will lessen our reliance on road salt that can pollute stormwater systems and nearby waterbodies,” said Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Daniel Losquadro. “And, the Razor System Split Plowguards will extend blade life and ensure more effective snow and ice removal, minimizing the need for repeated salting.”
According to Losquadro, the eight new 535-gallon capacity brine sprayers are projected to use up to 70 percent less salt than traditional methods. The 212 new plow guards are designed for greater efficiency compared to straight-edge blades and have a longer lifespan than conventional options.
“Anything we can do to ensure our plow operators can stay out on the roads longer during these winter storm events, rather than having to pull their equipment off and into our maintenance shop for repairs, means the sooner we can get the roads cleared,” Losquadro said.
The total cost for purchasing this equipment is $367,000, with a required 25 percent match from the Town. The Highway Department expects these upgrades will help reduce its rock salt usage by about 30 percent. Currently, Brookhaven applies an average of 13,872 tons of rock salt each year across 3,700 lane miles.
“Over the years, we have seen Brookhaven’s coastal waters impacted by flooding and storm surges,” Losquadro said. “Stormwater from such events carries harmful pollutants from public roadways into nearby waterways, degrading water quality. This project will improve the Highway Department’s capacity to mitigate harmful road maintenance pollutants from entering the Town’s stormwater system and discharging into nearby waterbodies, while strengthening our ability to maintain safe road conditions during increasingly variable winter weather.”
Brookhaven provides municipal services focused on resident needs and community improvements as described on its official website. The town serves residents in Suffolk County through accessible programs and facilities according to its official site. Efforts like this project align with Brookhaven's commitment to fostering growth, enhancing well-being through responsible practices, improving traffic safety, supporting youth programs, maintaining nature preserves, and delivering essential services in Suffolk County as detailed online.