Priority – Healthier Waters!
by Chris Ganitsch
There is good news on the water quality front!
In our own backyard, the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), in cooperation with the Town, has completed a nitrogen mitigation project in Pussy’s Pond, which drains directly into Accabonac Harbor. The best news? The permeable, reactive test mats, placed at scientifically determined groundwater flow areas, decreased nitrogen by 85%! An expanded but similar project, combined with a vegetative mitigation project, are planned for the pond.
In addition, APC is working to partner with CCE and the Town in developing a similar pilot project in another suitable area of the Harbor.
In East Hampton, the Wastewater Management Plan Advisory Committee made their recommendations to the Town Board in December. The committee recommended acceptance of the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan for East Hampton prepared by Lombardo Associates, Inc. and submitted in September 2014 (see it at EHWaterRestore.com), but recognizing that additions and refinements to the plan may be necessary prior to formulating and executing future water-quality projects.
The advisory committee’s additional recommendations included the establishment of long-term town wide surface water testing and monitoring, the development of detailed individual watershed plans, the support for public/private partnerships coordinated through the town, regulating compliance for the 2005 federal law requiring the removal of large-capacity cesspools and supporting a town-wide drinking-water testing program.
The committee also supported the development of education and outreach programs, the review and refinement of town code regarding sanitary system regulations and the formation of watershed protection improvement districts. It recognized that the singular important issue of upgrading individual residential septics and cesspools will require much discussion moving forward, as denitrifying systems currently in the test phase will hopefully be approved by Suffolk County Department of Health later this year. In recognition of the complexity of the water quality issue, the committee recommended that the Town Board form a Water Quality Advisory Committee moving forward.
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the Long Island Regional Planning Committee, in partnership with numerous local governments, environmental groups and other stakeholders, are working to develop a Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP). Existing scientific and geographic data will be consolidated and data gaps identified, with the goal to develop near- and long-term strategies to reduce nitrogen pollution in our surface and ground waters. One of many exciting plans of LINAP is to make data and research projects accessible to the public. A central information resource location will be a welcome move forward.
On a regional level, an Eastern Suffolk County LINAP “scoping meeting” was held in Riverhead on February 2. A number of representatives from local and regional organizations (including APC) presented topics that should not be overlooked when formulating nitrogen remediation plans for the East End.
All are focused on the need to take ACTION. Let’s work to keep it that way.
