Water Conservation Spotlighted at Southold Meeting Tuesday in Town Hall

SOUTHOLD, NY —Water conservation is a critical issue on the North Fork — and the focus of a discussion to be held Tuesday night in Southold.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, and the Suffolk County Water Authority will team up for the meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Southold Town Hall board room.

The public is welcome to attend.

According to the SCWA, the conservation of the underground aquifer system that provides 100 percent of the public's drinking water is a key environmental, financial and quality of life concern.

Residents who attend will learn what they can do to help, the SCWA said. Speakers will discuss the environmental, economic and quality of life issues associated with why the North Fork water supply is critical and educate the public on how they can help to conserve water.

A question and answer session will follow the presentation. Everyone who attends will receive a free stainless steel reusable water bottle, courtesy of SCWA, a release said.

At a recent Southold town board work session, Southold Town Councilman Bob Ghosio said the summer has been "fairly dry", despite rain in the past few weeks; he said the SCWA had sent out a mailer addressing an issue also addressed by the town board, on whether or not the town should possibly consider some restrictions on water usage.

Southold Town Attorney Bill Duffy has been researching what other municipalities have done to address the issues.

Russell said the SCWA had given him a list of the 100 largest water consumers in town, including commercial locations.

Some of the data on residential use is "eye opening," the supervisor said.

The typical home, Russell said, utilizes 166,000 gallons of water per year. On the list, however, are homes that utilize 1.3 or 1.4 million gallons yearly. One homeowner, he said, uses 2.7 million gallons per year. "It's substantial," Russell said. "It's interesting to see so much consumption at residential homes, with levels far exceeding many commercial operations."

Some commercial businesses use as much as 5.4 million gallons per year, he said.

Russell said the town has already commenced outreach to owners who are "very receptive" to discussing conservation practices.

Councilwoman Jill Doherty suggested inviting local businesses, such as irrigation companies, to the meeting.
Russell said the town would kick off public outreach and invite all who are interested to attend.

"This is just informational," Russell said. "We're not proposing any restrictions."

He added that individuals with private wells might also want to be included in the discussion.

Russell said he was sure the issue of property rights would arise. "But water is a public resource," he reminded.

Ghosio said even the town's largest water consumers "pale in comparison to parts of the East End, but it is a public resource and we have to be conscious of the resource being over-utilized."

The SCWA, Russell said, is proposing a two-million gallon ground water storage tank at Laurel Lake, which is slated to be less than 30 feet at its highest. "There will be some visual impact to the road, but modest,"