See Save The Sound's 2022 LI Sound Report Card: From A+ To Failing

LONG ISLAND SOUND, NY — The 2022 Long Island Sound Report Card is here, and the Sound Shore didn't exactly make the honor roll, but it could have been worse.

In its latest biennial report, released on Thursday, the regional nonprofit environmental organization Save the Sound released grades measuring the ecological health of the five open water segments of the Long Island Sound (LIS), as well as 53 bays and bay segments monitored by 24 partner groups in the Unified Water Study (UWS).

Save the Sound started the UWS in 2017 with two main goals: stardardizing the procedures of measuring water quality in LIS bays and ensuring consistency in data collection. Highlights from the report show both "good news and bad news."

The five regions of the Long Island Sound are: the Western Narrows, the Eastern Narrows, the Western Basin, the Central Basin and the Eastern Basin.

Open Water Indicators measure the environmental health of LIS waters and indicate their ability to support aquatic life and marine habitats. These indicators include: dissolved organic carbon, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, water clarity, seaweed and oxygen saturation.

Save the Sound says that good water quality (high dissolved oxygen and water clarity, low chlorophyll a, dissolved organic carbon and seaweed) supports diversity of animals, plants and habitats. Poor water quality is indicated by low dissolved oxygen levels (hypoxia) and algae blooms (high chlorophyll a and/or seaweed). While some algae are essential to support the food web, too much nitrogen from human sources leads to overgrowth of algae. As algae, and the animals that feed on the algae, respire, die and decompose, the water's oxygen is depleted.

Only 23 out of the 53 bays/bay segments received grades of B- or better. 11 segments received an A. Of the 53 segments studied across 40 bays, 57 percent received a C, D or F grade. The grades show hypoxia is the biggest problem, followed by high chlorophyll a and high amounts of seaweed, according to Save the Sound.

The organization says that the latest water quality grades are mostly consistent with recent years, although some of the overall water quality improving trends seen in 2018's Report Card have not continued.

In general, water quality was poor in the west and excellent in the east. This is due to reduced circulation and increased population and development in the western Sound, which contrasts with the greater tidal exchange with the Atlantic Ocean and lower population density in the east.

Small bays and inland segments of larger bays have poor tidal flushing with greater impacts from local human-sourced pollution in rivers, streams and groundwater. Excess nitrogen from sewers, septic systems, lawn fertilizer applications and use of fossil fuels contribute the most to harming marine life in the LIS.

Grades For The Five Main Regions of the LI Sound:

• Western Narrows: F
• Eastern Narrows: C (Westchester County Sound Shore is located here.)
• Western Basin: B+
• Central Basin: A
• Eastern Basin: A+

The Eastern Narrows received a C grade, similar to the score from 2019. Save the Sound says that the Eastern Narrows remain in a variable state after seeing noteworthy improvements from 2008 - 2017. Dissolved oxygen received a D- which indicates a stressed aquatic environment in need of further restoration of water quality.

Grades For Westchester County Sound Shore:

• Mamaroneck Harbor: C
• New Rochelle Harbor: B-

Full results from the 2022 Long Island Sound Report Card have been posted on the Sound Health Explorer website. The site, operated by Save the Sound, includes an interactive map allowing visitors to view water quality grades and data.

Save the Sound said that resting on previous accomplishments while expecting water quality to continue to improve is a poor assumption. The organization says that efforts must continue to protect and restore water quality in the Sound, and that success or failure to do so will determine if these basins will move towards overall improvement or if previous gains are lost due to pollution paired with impacts from climate change.

"We’re finding evidence that investment in clean water infrastructure leads to measurable benefits for Long Island Sound," David Ansel, regional director of water protection for Save the Sound, said of the report. "It’s also clear that there is much more to be done, particularly in stressed bays throughout the length of the Sound, as well as in the western Sound."

Climate Change and Future Challenges:
Science Advisors for the 2022 Long Island Sound Report Card, Jamie Vaudrey, PhD, and Jason Krumholz, PhD, cited a 2021 study published in Environmental Science & Technology, that said that waters in the western LIS are warming at a rate of 1.44 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, which "favors hypoxia." According to the latest report card, "the warmer the water, the less oxygen it is able to hold…Many longtime residents of the region remember the severe hypoxic conditions that plagued the Sound back in the 1970s and 1980s, when fish kills were commonplace between Bridgeport, CT, and New York City."

Save the Sound says that the challenge for the future is that nitrogen pollution reduction must remain a priority in all areas of the LIS. "Coordinated conservation efforts, investments in infrastructure that upgrades wastewater treatment and reduces stormwater runoff, and commitment from elected officials and an engaged public must continue. Otherwise, all the slow gains we have made in recent years threaten to be undone by indisputably rising temperatures."

"The good news contained in this report is that tactics designed to improve water quality in Long Island Sound have been effective," Krumholz esplained. "It takes reliable long-term data to identify what is working and where, and just as important, what areas need more help. While progress has been made, continued efforts are necessary to meet our ultimate goals."

What Save the Sound Says You Can Do:

• Reduce water usage to lighten the load at overtaxed water treatment plants and to reduce wear and tear on pipes.
• Maintain your sewer lines and septic systems by having them regularly inspected, repaired and pumped out. Install septic systems that reduce nitrogen.
• Keep litter out of the waterways. Use less plastic. Use reusable bags, straws, water bottles and cups to keep harmful plastics away from marine life.
• Plant native plants to reduce water usage in yards, to help filter pollutants along waterways, and to provide wildlife with food and shelter.
• Tell elected officials you want policies that support clean water and use your purchasing power to reward companies that put the environment first.
• Eliminate or reduce fertilizer use. Use half the amount and only arorund Labor Day or Memorial Day. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to work as a natural fertilizer.

Save the Sound says that they bring the results to elected officials, environmental agencies and the general public as part of their ongoing work to catalyze improvements in ecosystem health and promote restoration projects and investments.

The report was made possible through funding from the John and Daria Barry Foundation. Data collection was funded by the EPA's Long Island Sound Study.

Learn more about Save the Sound here.

Thursday's Save the Sound press conference can be viewed here.