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January 2021 Newsletter

The sun rises on a new day, a new year in Accabonac Harbor. Your appreciation of and concern for Accabonac Harbor is evident by your membership and donations and your participation in the APC Educational Forums. 2021 will be an important year for Accabonac Harbor. We will keep our hyper-local focus on Accabonac Harbor as we partner with researchers and decision makers to keep the harbor healthy and beautiful. The following are APC’s 2021 objectives along with some background:
 
Pussy’s Pond Park. 

  • The Town’s Accabonac Stormwater Abatement Plan included a landscaping project along the edge of the pond closest to School Street. The landscaping project was completed, about two years ago. While maintenance was originally envisioned to be minimal, some of the young saplings are languishing. We are collaborating with the Town on a maintenance plan. We will help implement the plan.
  • A handcrafted wooden foot bridge was painstakingly created by local craftsmen and the community in 2013. Phragmites are encroaching the bridge and masking its beauty. We will collaborate with the Town Department of Natural Resources, the Trustees and others to control/replace the phragmites with non-invasive local species. 
  • We will partner with the Town Department of Natural Resources and the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) to re-vegetate the pond edge near the Blacksmith Shop. 

We believe the above activities will enhance Pussy’s Pond Park an environment for all to enjoy. 

Water Quality 
APC will continue to collaborate with CCOM on water sampling to monitor enterococcus levels which are often high. It is our hope that the sampling will result in appropriate remediations.

We will continue to collaborate the Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy and the Trustees to evaluate the culvert under the road bridge to determine if is it of sufficient diameter to allow adequate flow of water. We understand there are plans for renovation of the bridge in 2022, so this is the right time to confirm the requirements for the project

Nitrogen Remediation

  • As part of the Accabonac Stormwater abatement plan, the town contracted with CCE to measure water quality conditions. Baseline sampling completed in 2015 found significant groundwater derived nitrogen ientering the pond through subsurface groundwater discharge (SGD). They suggested long term remediations such as septic upgrades and/or sewering areas. This recommendation resulted in the upgrade of the Springs School septic system. 

Ammonia Plumes

  • In 2017, the analysis was expanded to include western Accabonac Harbor. This analysis found a flux of nitrate, ammonia and total nitrogen entering the harbor though subsurface groundwater, ammonia at levels which indicate septic discharge entering the harbor. We are very interested in a proposed project to mitigate the so-called “ammonia plumes”. The research design is close to finalization. It involves, in lay terms, intercepting and converting the ammonia before it reaches Accabonac Harbor. More to come on this important project next month

Gerard Drive Culvert
 
We have heard divergent opinions about the effect of the Gerard Drive culvert on water quality in Accabonac Harbor. We would like to see a scientific assessment of the impact of the culvert on the water quality in Accabonac Harbor and will collaborate with the Town, the Nature Conservancy and the Trustees on this.
 
Mosquito Control
We continue to collaborate with the Town Trustees, Suffolk County Vector Control,  Department of Natural Resources and the Nature Conservancy county on efforts to minimize or eliminate pesticide treatment of Accabonac Harbor. These pesticides are used to control mosquito larva. In addition to sampling of hot spots to allow targeted treatment, APC is following the discussions in the scientific community about the use minimally invasive mitigations of the mosquito hot spots, basically to reconfigure the hotspots so they have improved water circulation. We will communicate regularly to APC members about the 2021 efforts as the planning progresses.
 
Finally, we will sponsor educational forums throughout the year. 
 
We have two on calendar so far this year. APC Forums begin at 6pm and are offered on Zoom. You need to pre-register. Details on the APC Website https://accabonac.org/events-and-activities. Videos of earlier Forums are on our website as well.
 
January 12, 2021 “Pollinators, Birds and Insects” 
Mica Marder and Tamson Yeh of Cornell Cooperative Extension will discuss their walk through Marder’s Pollinator Garden, videotaped in July 2020, this will remind you of warmer days ahead. 
Noted landscape designer, Edwina Von Gal, will explain the “Two Thirds (2/3) for the birds” principle for landscaping our properties.
 
February 2, 2021 “Life in and Around our Local Waters: Sea Turtles and Birds”.  
Expert birder and naturalist Bruce Horwith, PhD will show us birds likely to be found this time of year. Sadie Logozio, Stranding Technician with NYS Marine Rescue Center will discuss turtles and how to help cold stranded turtles.
 
All the best,
Patrice Dalton,
APC President

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