Suffolk County Water Authority Revenue and Competitors

The Suffolk County Water Authority operates the largest water system in the nation based entirely upon groundwater. Hydro Geologists estimate that the aquifers in our area contain 70-90 TRILLION gallons of drinking water - Enough to supply the current population for hundreds of years, even if it never rained or snowed again. New York State's water quality standards for public tap water are among the most stringent in the nation and are stricter than those for bottled water sold in New York State. The SCWA Laboratory in Hauppauge, which cost approximately $6,000,000 to build, is the largest groundwater testing facility in the United States. The SCWA Lab analyzes more than 70,000 water samples per year for 300 contaminants. Since 1998, Suffolk County has been recognized as a Groundwater Guardian community by the Groundwater Foundation, a non-profit educational organization based in Lincoln, Nebraska. On average, our area receives about 45 inches of rain per year with more than 900,000,000 gallons of water entering the aquifers on an average day. Even during the summer at peak usage, the SCWA rarely pumps out more than 400,000,000 gallons in a single day.