The Suffolk County Water Authority began work Monday to extend a key water main that will provide public water to 64 households in the Riverhead Town neighborhoods of Manorville and Calverton, which will be drained from private wells that have been found to be contaminated with perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).

This project is Phase 2 of an ongoing effort to connect more households to the SCWA water supply, officials said.

Phase 1, completed in February, marked the culmination of years of efforts by residents, elected officials and the SCWA to expand public water service in the area. As part of that previous effort, SWCA connections were created for an additional 64 households, all located in Brookhaven Town.

Much of the city of Riverhead is already connected to public water, but Phase 2 areas are not. Residents there have been asking authorities for years to connect their homes to public water.

The new water main extension project will install over 20,000 feet of water mains that will ultimately deliver drinking water that meets or exceeds water quality regulations.

“This is a victory for the community,” said Kelly McClinchy of Manorville, who led the fight for access to clean water.

Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard said current work will install all the water lines needed to serve those areas, but the city will need additional funding to complete Phase 2 by connecting homes to those lines.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, which advocates for homeowners’ interests, said in a press release: “After a five-year struggle, CCE, community members and elected officials are celebrating the connection of all 128 homes to the public water service.”

Officials said residents of the 128 affected households had been drinking from private wells. Some wells were found to contain toxic levels of PFAS, while others were highly likely to be contaminated, possibly linked to the toxic cloud from the former Grumman Naval Base. Tests of these residents’ wells found PFAS “persistent chemicals” and volatile organic compounds that pose a health risk.