SOURCE:
https://www.wshu.org/long-island-news/2024-10-25/water-quality-problems-long-island-bays
By Desiree D'Iorio - October 25, 2024
Fish kills, algal blooms and oxygen-deprived “dead zones” affected almost all of Long Island’s bays and estuaries this summer, according to scientists who monitor water quality at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
More than 24 lakes and ponds experienced blue-green algal blooms, which can be toxic to humans and animals.
"That [number] is almost certainly going to be double, or more, than any other county in New York State," said Stony Brook researcher Dr. Chris Gobler at a news conference Wednesday. “What's happened more commonly here on Long Island has been dogs going into these water bodies, drinking that water, and getting sick.”
The grim water quality report is due to nitrogen from wastewater runoff which causes harmful algal blooms that suck the oxygen out of surface waters.
Gobler said this summer, Long Island surface waters clocked a record 36 "dead zones," areas where dissolved oxygen is too low to support marine life.
"This problem will not fix itself," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "And we don't have a Plan B. We only have the plan to expand sewers where appropriate, and to change out aging septic tanks and cesspools wherever we can. As grim as this news is, the hopeful part is that we have a plan to make a difference."
She urged Suffolk County voters to approve a ballot referendum this election season to increase sales tax by .125% to fund sewer expansions and high-tech septic tanks.
Kevin McCaffrey, presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature, said the new tax is about 12 pennies on every $100 spent and will help the county reverse the effects of nitrogen pollution.
"Over $50 million a year is going to go into a dedicated fund, which we can use for matching funds from the state and the federal government to exponentially grow that fund even larger," McCaffery said in support of the tax hike, adding that it will enable the county "to do the things that we need to do to address these concerns that we're seeing here today."