Experts Discuss Water Pollution in Hampton Bays

People should do away with their manicured lawns and meticulously landscaped properties and learn to live more naturally.  That was the suggestion of environmental experts who spoke at Monday night's Hampton Bays Civic Association meeting for a special program entitled Crisis in Our Bays: An Educational, Environmental Forum held at the Hampton Bays Senior Center.

Association members decided to hold the forum following a state DEC report that found the South Shore Estuary in the Town of Southampton to have "impaired waters."  This includes the waters of Shinnecock in Hampton Bays.  

Experts said lawn fertilizers, pesticides, residential cesspools and even unused medications are all contaminating the bays and harming marine life with storm water runoff — and it is at a crisis.  "Our waters are impaired," said environmental activist and civic association member Mary Jean Green, who invited the panel of experts to speak.  "It is a subject that has to be addressed immediately," she said.

"The condition of our waterways is — we are at a crossroads and that is the reality," said Peconic Baykeeper Kevin McAllister, adding that municipalities must find a way to remediate the problem and prevent further pollution.  He said that overdevelopment, such as high-density housing and condominiums, and land use practices have contributed to the problem by creating storm water runoff.  He suggested up-zoning coupled with alternative technologies to denitrify, remove nitrogen nutrients from waters, as a possible solution to the problem.

"There's still good water in some areas," said Charles De Quilldelft, Unit Leader for Marine Monitoring and Assessment at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and a member of the Science and Technology Committee for the Long Island Sound Study.  He said that it is not too late to restore the bays if remediation begins immediately. 

In addition to cancer-causing carcinogens like lawn fertilizer and pesticides, Quilldelft said plumes from industrial sites and heavy metals come in through storm water runoff as well.  This harms the reproduction and growth of marine life.  He said lifestyles changes are necessary.  "It doesn't go much beyond common sense and good maintenance," he said.  He also urged residents to work with the federal government to obtain grants for remediation and prevention programs.

Robert DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, said that polluted water is the symptom, "but human settlement is the disease."  He also criticized over-development and said that people must make sacrifices and lifestyle changes.  He suggested septic management districts where trucks would come and clean out septic tanks.  "Urgency drives the political process," he said. 

Marty Shea, head of conservation under Land Management for the Town of Southampton, discussed the town's revisiting of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, a master plan for the local waterfront.  "We're really excited about starting this program," he said, adding that the town will work with the trustees and environmental groups, as well as members of the public.  "A major part of the process will be public input," he said.  "It's an opportunity to work extremely closely with the public."

Shea also discussed more overlay zoning as an extra layer of environmental protection in certain environmentally sensitive areas.  The town already has an Aquifer Protection Overlay District to protect drinking water.  He said the town is trying to fix every area to correct road runoff.  Other ideas to prevent water pollution are peeling back paved roads to allow for filtration and public access, and shortening the length of docks.  Shea said residents have been receptive. "We have strong community support for these things," he said.