Suffolk voters have a rich history of protecting water

As Suffolk County voters ponder whether to approve this year's ballot referendum known as Proposition 2 — which calls for a 0.125% county sales tax increase to fund sewer expansions and high-tech septic systems — they should remember that the county has a proud tradition of overwhelmingly approving voter-backed environmental initiatives that stretches back half a century.

For decades, the concept of incrementally raising tax dollars to fund water protection efforts has been a successful tool for Suffolk. Yet, our political divisions threaten to derail this latest attempt to ensure clean drinking water for future generations — even though the referendum is simply the next evolution of these historic collective efforts.

The modern roots of Suffolk’s environmental stewardship were established when the 1978 federally funded 208 study, named after a key section of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act that established baseline water quality standards nationwide, showcased the interconnection between land use and water quality across Long Island.

The findings from the 208 study were damning. The data showed how our waters were being tainted by our own wastewater, landfills, stormwater runoff, and more. Planners forecast that if development continued unfettered across the region, the future of our only potable water source — our aquifer — would be bleak.

Riding the rising tide of environmental awareness nationwide, Suffolk and local townships took leadership on the issue by pioneering novel land-use controls that transferred development density away from key areas, preserving critical tracts of land and the aquifers they sheltered. In addition, policymakers worked with New York State to enact sweeping regulatory oversight that transcended the arbitrary jurisdictional lines of government.

The 208 study led to a cascade of policy actions that protected our aquifers, including 1982’s Waste Treatment Management Plan that called for better cooperation across different levels of government, and the 1992 Special Groundwater Protection Areas plan, which targeted vital undeveloped areas for open space protection. All the while, localities were shifting their zoning to reduce residential density in key areas and allocating public funds toward open space protection.

The county’s Drinking Water Protection Program, passed by public referendum in 1987 and which Proposition 2 looks to extend and enhance with voter approval, was a key component within this series of successful environmental initiatives.

All of these steps were critical because Suffolk was facing intense development pressures and the electorate had grave fears that the county’s growth would become unsustainable for the drinking water supply.

This momentum culminated with state protection of the Long Island Pine Barrens in 1993, which froze development across 105,000 acres of woodlands to protect groundwater. The Pine Barrens Act significantly restricted growth within nearly 50,000 additional acres to ensure the water supply met future needs, while allowing for some economic growth in the years ahead.

Given Suffolk’s past, proposals like Proposition 2 would normally be passed by voters with ease. The measure would add 12.5 cents to every $100 purchase, with revenue going toward sewer expansion in a county that desperately needs that and the installation of advanced septic systems in sensitive watersheds where sewers are not feasible.

Amid our current divisiveness, Suffolk's voters would be wise to ignore the toxic political discourse and remember their own proud legacy of collectively taking action to secure our region’s future and keep our water clean.

This guest essay reflects the views of Richard Murdocco, adjunct professor of environmental policy and planning at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the Public Policy Graduate Program at Stony Brook University.