Nassau County has announced a plan that would take treated effluent wastewater from the Superstorm Sandy-damaged Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant and discharge it through the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant's ocean-outfall pipe.

The plan would use a little-known and unused aqueduct under Sunrise Highway to transfer the wastewater to the Wantagh plant.

Officials say the proposal would reduce or eliminate the effluent from being discharged into Reynolds Channel, where it has been causing environmental damage.

Nassau County had been planning to build a $450 million ocean-outfall pipe at Bay Park as a remedy. The aqueduct plan is estimated to cost about $100 million less.

Environmentalists say under the proposal, the treated effluent from Bay Park would not be treated again at Cedar Creek, but would rather go directly to the ocean-outfall pipe.

The county is putting out bids to study the plan and test the aqueduct to make sure it's safe.