Location: Long Island Campus

This project will decommission an existing water treatment plant and replace it with a fully enclosed modern membrane bioreactor facility totaling 7,000 square feet, including approximately 1,000 square feet of academic research and training laboratory space.

The Water Treatment Plant will represent a decreased footprint and anticipates a capacity of 75,000 to 150,000 gallons per day; the existing plant has capacity for 300,000 gallons per day, and uses approximately 30,000 gallons daily.

The Bioengineering Research and Training Lab will support collaboration and research within the university's College of Engineering and Computing Sciences and its College of Arts and Sciences. It will provide students with hands-on opportunities to study water quality and conservation while experiencing first-hand a modern wastewater treatment plant and how such facilities are built, managed, and operated, preparing them to address water management workforce needs of the future.

This project is also expected to help spur economic growth for Long Island and the broader metropolitan region. By eventually increasing the number of qualified wastewater treatment technicians and professionals, this initiative will help address changing skill requirements in the sanitary water and wastewater industry, which currently is challenged in meeting its demand for talent. The new lab represents a unique opportunity to address such workforce development needs by offering upskilling opportunities to those seeking to increase their industry qualifications while also preparing the next generation of industry professionals.

Project Team

• New York Tech Project Lead: TBD
• Academic Lead: Babak D. Beheshti, Dean, College of Engineering and Computing Sciences

Timeline

• Spring 2021: $2 million grant received from HeCap
• Fall 2021: Project and financing approved by New York Tech Board of Trustees
• 2022: Vendor selection. Designs, approvals, and permits (including New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Old Westbury, N.Y.)
• TBD: Ground breaking
• 2023: Construction
• Summer 2024: Expected completion

Financing

• Estimated Cost: $8.5 million
• Funding:
  • $6.5 million from New York Tech capital reserves
  • $2 million grant from the Higher Education Capital (HECap) Matching Grant Program to support the design, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or equipping of a facility on or near a college campus within the State of New York.

Sustainable Elements

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's LEED v4.1 rating standard, to which this facility will be built, strongly encourages water use reduction, rainwater management, and the employment of alternative, non-potable water sources for appropriate end uses. This new facility will render high-quality waste, making the treated wastewater available for other purposes, including safe irrigation.