Environmentalists Team Up To Fight Algal Bloom In Fort Pond

MONTAUK, NY — Environmentalists are teaming up to fight back against a harmful algal bloom in Fort Pond in Montauk.

This week, Concerned Citizens of Montauk announced their partnership with Dr. Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University on "an intense harmful algal bloom monitoring program" to be conducted in Fort Pond.

While most algae are harmless and often play an integral part in any aquatic ecosystem, some, like the blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, which was detected in Fort Pond during the summers of 2015 and 2017, produce toxins that can be harmful to humans and animals. In fact, the swimming portion of the 2017 Mightyman Montauk Triathlon was canceled due to the presence of a severe and toxic bloom, CCOM said.

Until now, sampling of the cyanobacteria blooms in Fort Pond has been sporadic and infrequent, with only a handful of samples taken, CCOM added.

Beginning in May, samples will be taken by CCOM and analyzed by the Gobler Lab every other week.

Then, beginning in June, samples will be taken and analyzed weekly. Results will be posted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s HAB notification website and circulated along with CCOM’s enterococcus testing results, CCOM said.

Gobler’s results will be analyzed by the New York State Department of Health and Suffolk County Department of Health Services to determine if and when health or swimming advisories should be issued.

Dr. Gobler is a professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and Director of New York State’s Center for Clean Water Technology. Dr. Gobler’s lab is currently under contract to analyze freshwater samples for the presence of blue-green algae in the New York City and Long Island region for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a release from CCOM said.

“Blue-green algae represent a serious threat to the health of humans, pets, and aquatic life. Blue-green algae blooms have been sporadically detected in Fort Pond, but frankly, the monitoring of this water body has been entirely haphazard and thus very little is known about them," Gobler said. "A consistent, time-series monitoring program such as this will serve as the foundation for establishing the extent of the problem, which is the first step toward devising a solution.”

Laura Tooman, president of Concerned Citizens of Montauk agreed: “We must do a better job at understanding the blooms, their frequency, and their length. We must do a better job at educating the community about the threats, and we must do a better job at fixing the problem.”

Harmful algal blooms are typically fueled by increased nutrient loadings from septic systems and stormwater runoff. Mitigating direct discharges of stormwater and replacing outdated and ineffective cesspools and septic systems with new innovative alternative systems, which have higher nitrogen treatment capabilities can help remedy the problem, the CCOM maintained, reminding that Suffolk County and the Town of East Hampton offer "significant financial assistance" for septic replacement.
“To safeguard our water quality, New York State is working with organizations like the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and experts at Stony Brook University to study the causes of algal blooms across the state which are often fueled by high nitrogen and phosphorous levels,” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said. "Through the governor’s Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan initiative, DEC is working with many partners to resolve the nitrogen pollution in the waters of Long Island."

As part of that initiative, he said, Suffolk County received $10 million through the state's septic system replacement fund to continue to help residences install septic systems that will remove a significant amount of nitrogen.

Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming weighed in on the critical issue: “Harmful algal blooms are increasingly prevalent in our local ponds, lakes, and waterways, such as Fort Pond, and can prevent residents and visitors from enjoying the natural resources that attract so many to our East End community," she said. "In order to prevent harmful algal blooms we must develop a more complete understanding of the factors that allow these bacteria to flourish."

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc applauded the partnership, which he said will provide additional data to reinforce the town’s efforts to address water pollution, and protect public health. “Water quality protection and improvement projects undertaken throughout the town, from legislation requiring the use of nitrogen-reducing septic systems to remediating storm water runoff from roadways, to habitat restoration efforts such as the community oyster grower’s program, are having a positive influence on the quality of our ground and surface waters. We look forward to better understanding the water quality issues faced in Fort Pond and implementing solutions to protect and restore this valuable asset," he said.

Patch photo courtesy Concerned Citizens of Montauk.