The one-eighth cent sales tax approved by Suffolk County voters in November is expected to generate nearly $2.7 billion over the next 35 years. The money from the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Fund will be split evenly between new sewers and grants for homeowners to replace outdated septic systems in the county. The county started collecting the additional sales tax on March 1.

Two Suffolk County officials gave an update on the program to an audience of more than 100 people at Save the Great South Bay’s quarterly speaker series on Friday, March 7.

A 21-member board that will choose the projects for funding, deputy county executive Jennifer Juengst told the audience of more than 100 people at the View restaurant in Oakdale.

As part of the referendum overwhelmingly approved in November, the county’s 27 sewer districts will be consolidated into a single district. Instead of homeowners paying different rates, the rates will be equalized over a 10-year period starting in 2026.

Julia Priolo, a principal environmental analyst for Suffolk County, described plans for a county grant program that will help homeowners defray the cost of replacing aging septic systems with new, nitrogen-removing models. The average cost for the advanced septic systems is about $34,000 for homes in the county’s East End towns and about $28,500 for homes in the western part of the county, Priolo said.

The county grant program will be funded by half of the revenue from the one-eighth cent sales tax—an estimated $1.34 billion over 35 years. The county will offer grants of $15,000, plus an additional $5,000 for homeowners with low-to-moderate incomes.

That’s on top of a $10,000 grant offered by New York State for a total of either $25,000 or $30,000. Low-interest loans of up to $10,000 are available to fund the remainder of the cost.

If funding remains at expected levels, the one-eighth cent sales tax will be enough to install about 53,000 updated septic systems by 2060, plus another approximately 27,000 funded by a previously existing one-quarter cent sales tax, Juengst said.

A report prepared for the county estimated the sales tax would also generate enough revenue to hook up 39,000 properties to sewers.

Save the Great South Bay executive director Robyn Silvestri said she’ll be watching closely the rollout of the new county program. Her organization has been advocating for more than a decade for the county to reduce the amount of nitrogen flowing into the area’s waterways and take steps to improve the county’s water quality.

Silvestri said she’d like to see the county make Oakdale, Great River and Sayville among the first areas where septic systems are replaced.

Even before revenue starts flowing in from the added  one-eighth cent sales tax, the county is seeking to add new sewer lines, including an extension of the Forge River sewer line in Mastic and a sewer line for North Bellport.