LaLota secures $6.1 million for Smithtown water hookups, road repairs

Smithtown families living with PFAS-tainted private wells will see the most immediate relief from Rep. Nick LaLota’s latest funding package: $1,086,400 to connect 26 single-family homes to the Smithtown Water District. Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said the alternative could have forced homeowners to pay roughly $20,000 to $30,000 per home for hookups, a cost many households could not absorb while still buying water for drinking, cooking and everyday use.

The second half of the announcement carries a different but equally visible payoff for taxpayers. A separate $5 million will support the Town of Smithtown Pavement Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Renewal Project, a townwide effort focused on resurfacing and restoring deteriorating roads. Town officials identified Brooksite Drive, Old Willets Path and Plymouth Boulevard as priority repair areas, and said the work comes as rising material and fuel costs continue to strain local road budgets. Smithtown’s 2026 roadway improvement season was already underway, with Edgewood Avenue corridor improvements entering their final phase.

LaLota and local officials announced the funding at back-to-back press conferences on May 29, including one at Peter Nowick Sr. Memorial Park on Landing Avenue focused on the water connection. The homes targeted for the hookup were identified by the Suffolk County Department of Health as having private wells contaminated with PFAS, tying the Smithtown project to a larger countywide public health issue that has also drawn attention from New York State’s Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program, which includes Suffolk County.

The announcement also fits into LaLota’s broader federal spending push across Suffolk County. In January 2026, his office said ten county community projects totaling $11,839,915 had been signed into law, and later said five more projects totaling $15,350,000 advanced, including additional roadway infrastructure funding. In Smithtown, the immediate result is plain: fewer households stuck with expensive private fixes for contaminated wells, and more public money aimed at roads residents use every day.