Southampton - This month's column is a call to action for all of us. Our beautiful, beloved bays and estuaries are in danger. New York State has classified our East End waters as "impaired," which means that they are experiencing serious pollution problems. In August the Hampton Bays Civic Association's second annual Environment Forum, held at the Senior Center on Ponquogue Avenue, presented several expert speakers to address the pollution issues of our waterways.

Christopher Gobler, PhD, of Stony Brook University, began by describing the problem. Dr. Gobler explained that nitrogen in our bays has been causing blooms of algae that destroy shellfish and their habitat. Some of these algae can also be toxic to humans. There are two types of algal blooms infecting our waters; western Shinnecock Bay is especially hard hit. Brown tide turns the water a dull brown, and our area has the very dubious distinction of having the worst brown tide on the planet. Try to wrap your mind around that - the worst anywhere. The other algae, red tide, is toxic to humans, and showed up for the first time this year. We saw some areas completely closed to shellfishing. Why should any of us who don't make our living as baymen care about shellfish populations? Shellfish act as living water filters; a large enough shellfish population could filter the water in the entire bay in two or three days, and keep it clear. Without them, the water can't stay clean - and we no longer get to savor the sweet taste of our local shellfish.


Where is the nitrogen coming from in our bays? Dr. Gobler says that studies have shown definitively that it's coming from septic runoff - our cesspools and septic systems. The closer your house is to the water, the more impact it has on algae development. But all the houses in the watershed - even those several miles from the water - have an effect. All of the runoff from all of our septic finds it way into the groundwater, which ends up in our bays, and in the aquifer that supplies all of our drinking water. Nitrogen levels in the aquifers that supply our drinking water on Long Island have also risen significantly. The contamination affects us all. We simply can't afford to ignore it any longer.

Nitrogen-containing fertilizers, such as those used on lawns, also have an effect on the water, but to a lesser degree than septic systems.

Can We Save The Bays?

It's late in the game to try to fix our polluted waters, but technologies do exist to modify nitrogenous material and remove it from the water. But we've also got to find ways to keep the nitrogen from getting into the water in the first place. Perhaps one part of the solution will be to limit development in particularly sensitive locations. Dr. Gobler sees cause for hope in the fact that we're now aware of the problem, and that people really want the bays to be saved. Certainly the large crowd attending the Hampton Bays Environmental Forum demonstrated the growing concern. The bays are a signal that our groundwater - the source of all our drinking water - is also at risk.


What Can We Do?

Walter Dawydiak, of Suffolk County Health Services, presented Suffolk County's position, who are concerned with drinking water. Dawdiak stated that open space programs have been "critical in protecting the aquifer." The County believes that preventing fertilizer runoff is helpful, but that the only way to keep nitrogen at safe levels in our drinking water is the installation of carefully targeted sewage treatment systems.

Suffolk County is evaluating various on-site sewage disposal systems - from individual home systems to small plants that can service up to 100 homes - capable of denitrification. A study is due to be completed in December of this year.

The critical first step in the fight to save our waters is recognizing the serious problem that exists. That seems to be happening. But reducing the levels of nitrogen getting into the water is essential. In an article titled "Death By A Thousand Cuts," published in the inaugural issue of Ecothink magazine (contact them at hamptonsecothink@gmail.com), Baykeeper Kevin McAllister suggests that a good start would be to require that all new construction should incorporate wastewater disposal systems to reduce nitrogen levels. Building codes need to be amended accordingly.

Clean water is essential to our personal health, and also to our economy. Tourism, fishing, boating, swimming and so much of life here on the East End depend on clean water. It's time to get serious and address this issue.

Contact local organizations such as Peconic Baykeeper (www.peconicbaykeeper.org), and Group for the East End (www.eastendenvironment.org) for more information.