Key strides toward cleaning Long Island’s waters
Algae visible on the surface of the water at the south end of Agawam Lake in Southampton, May 11, 2017. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
The many-shaded algae blooms fouling Long Island’s waters — brown tides, rust tides, red tides, blue-green algae — harm marine life, humans or both. And the biggest source of the nutrients that fuel these blooms are poor-performing septic systems and cesspools. They contribute 69 percent of the nitrogen in Great South Bay and 43 percent of the nitrogen in the Peconic Estuary, according to a recent report from Suffolk County, Stony Brook University and others.
So Suffolk is on the right track with its new grant program to help homeowners replace old, inefficient systems with high-tech ones. Since July, Suffolk has received 630 registrations and 165 applications and awarded grants to 104 homeowners. County funding is enough for 200 grants per year at $10,000 per grant. But there are 360,000 Suffolk homes on septic systems or cesspools. The county wisely is applying for state funds from the $2.5 billion for clean water infrastructure approved in this year’s state budget. East Hampton, Brookhaven and Southampton have their own septic replacement programs, but all of these plans will require recurring funds, outreach and persistence.
Reducing nitrogen will take time, but these are important steps to start Suffolk on the long road to cleaner waters.
