Here at the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, we talk a lot about water quality. And why shouldn’t we? We are human after all. Other than the air we breathe, water is the most important resource we need not just to survive but thrive. And we are limited to a sole-source aquifer as our source for water. We drink it, of course, and we clean our bodies and our cars and our homes, but we also have a slowly recovering fishing economy, a diverse array of wildlife, and engage in countless acts of recreation such as boating, swimming, and more. A healthy Long Island requires clean water, and unfortunately our water isn’t as clean as it could be.
Chief among the contaminants that seep into Long Island’s waters is nitrogenous waste. When a body of water becomes oversaturated with nutrients like nitrogen, this is a process called eutrophication. Eutrophication, in turn, can trigger the appearance of vast harmful algal blooms (HAB), which can cause mass die-offs of fish, and can contaminate filter feeders (i.e. shellfish like clams, scallops, and mussels) with toxins. Thus, not only is the local economy severely impacted, but human health is, too. Eating contaminated shellfish can result in serious illnesses, and even death if the toxin produced by the algae is severe enough. When HAB events occur, it necessitates the closure of beaches, cutting off one of the best avenues for recreation. No aspect of human life is thus unaffected by nitrogen pollution.
An influx of nitrogen into the ecosystem can happen in a few different ways. It can be caused by runoff from developed land that uses a lot of fertilizer, as many fertilizers tend to contain a lot of nitrogen. Residential areas, golf courses, and farms can thus all contribute to nitrogenous runoff. Even more severely, perhaps (since it is so widespread) is the fact that untreated sewage contains nitrogen and, thanks to old, outdated infrastructure, much of this can leach into the surrounding environment. Thus, the most straightforward approach Suffolk County can take to improving the quality of its water (and thus, the quality of its citizens) is to improve the quality of its sewage systems and septic tanks.
Per the County itself, around three-quarters of Suffolk residents rely on outdated cesspools and septic systems, which thus discharge roughly 40 pounds of nitrogen per year per system. These old systems were never designed to remove nitrogen, but today there are systems that are designed to do just that. These are called Innovative and Alternative Onsite Water Treatment System (I/A OWTS if you want something catchy) which, as the name suggests, use new methods of water treatment at the site of contamination – i.e., your home. While there are a handful of different kinds of I/A OWTS out there, the main idea is consistent across them all. One of nature’s most important biological cycles is the nitrogen cycle, wherein nitrogen is phase changed. Thus, by using certain strains of bacteria which convert the nitrogenous waste into a gaseous form, the nitrogen is released harmlessly into the atmosphere. So, the I/A systems reduce the burden on Long Island’s aquifer, rivers and bays to contain all that nitrogen, thus improving Suffolk County’s water quality and the quality of life for its residents.
Besides these new-fangled septic systems, Suffolk County also needs to expand the coverage of its sewer system. Where septic tanks treat water in or near residences, accounting for only a handful of citizens per system, the sewage treatment plants handle the wastewater of whole communities. Treatment on this grander scale opens up another avenue to reduce nitrogen pollution: water reuse. While sewage treatment plants do a fair job of living up to their name, the wastewater they treat still retains enough nitrogen to cause problems if the water is discharged into the ecosystem. By using this water at places that need a lot of water which doesn’t necessarily have to be potable – such as golf courses and farms – the nitrogen in the water can be used by the plants and stay out of Long Island’s waterways. Expanded sewer systems will provide a greater amount of reusable water that will keep more nitrogen out of the ecosystem.
While these I/A systems and sewers sure sound like exactly what Suffolk County needs, there’s one question remaining: how are we to pay for this? Modern septic tanks and sewage systems don’t grow on trees, after all. Well, on Suffolk County ballots this year, we can vote Yes on Proposition 2, aka the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act. This measure, if passed, will introduce an eighth of a penny increase on sales tax, the proceeds of which will go to just this purpose. While that might not seem like a huge increase in tax (because it’s not) the cumulative result of this tax will allow the county to improve and replace its outdated wastewater infrastructure. So, if you want to do your part in improving our county’s water supply, vote YES on Proposition 2.
By Travis Cutter, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
