Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination 

Town D/O Inspection Team at work on Harbor Circle

The Town as required by state and federal law (MS4) proactively conducts field assessments to check for illicit discharges and illegal connections to the Town’s stormwater conveyance system and receiving waterbodies as part of its Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination Program.

By Town Code, the Department of Maritime Services is responsible for implementing Huntington’s Stormwater Management Plan and is one of three departments along with the Highway Department and the Department of Engineering Service with overall responsibility for safeguarding and maintaining the Town’s stormwater collection and conveyance system.

Maritime Services has a Spill Response Team and Storm Drain/Outfall Inspection Team.  The inspection team works in dry weather, when it can conduct inspections where there has been no precipitation in the preceding 72-hour period and the presence of moisture is evidence of an illegal connection or illicit discharge that can be tested for the presence of coliform bacteria or other contaminants.

The Inspection Team is one of a grouping of practices the Town uses to identify and eliminate illicit discharges to the Town’s municipal separate stormwater system (MS4):  

  • Huntington @ Your Service Online Constituent Response site (smart phone enabled). 
  • Public Safety Department’s 24-hour Emergency Hotline. 
  • Huntington Highway Department’s Operations Call Center. 
  • Maritime Services Department’s 1st Responder Spill Response Team.
  • Maritime Services Department’s Storm Drain/Outfall Pipe Inspection Team.
  • Stormwater Conveyance System Inspections by Huntington Highway & Engineering Services departments.

Huntington’s website is the quickest, easiest way for citizens to report a suspected illicit discharge or other drainage issue. Using your computer or mobile device on this website and click on the Huntington @ Your Service button or follow the Highway Department page both located on the Homepage. 

The Huntington Public Safety department maintains a 24-hour Hotline call-in number: (631) 351-3234.  Operators enter drainage complaints and reports into the Huntington @ Your Service response system.

The Maritime Services First Responder Spill Response Team is on-call 24-hours and responds to all calls from citizens regarding spills and illicit discharges. (Major spills and hazardous chemical spills are reported to NYS DEC and the appropriate local volunteer fire departments.) Its Stormdrain/Outfall Inspection Team as described above conducts routine “dry weather” inspections.

The staff in the Engineering Services Department conducts inspections of the stormwater conveyance systems build as required for new construction to ensure that no cross-connections or illegal connections are installed prior to issuing certificates of occupancy.

The Highway Department performs routine inspections and maintains and repairs stormwater conveyance systems owned by the Town as needed. Inspections, repairs and routine maintenance minimize the likelihood of contaminants entering the stormwater system from runoff or leakage from sanitary sewer systems.