Seeking to remove phragmites, an invasive plant, from a section of Georgica Pond, the owner of a pond-front residence at 94 Apaquogue Road asked the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals on Friday for a freshwater wetlands permit. The owner, David Gallo, was represented at the meeting by Charles Bowman of Land Use Ecological Services, a company that oversees wetland restorations.

Mr. Bowman said the excavation of the phragmites would take place in nearly 6,600 square feet of wetlands, where an effort to remove them by cutting already has been approved by the village and the State Department of Environmental Conservation. 

That approach, Mr. Bowman said, “has not been successful at all.” The remaining options, he said, were to either leave the phragmites alone or to excavate the roots. Fresh soil and native emergent plants would be added to the site once the phragmites were removed. 

Mr. Bowman said Mr. Gallo would pay the estimated $250,000 to $300,000 the project would cost. He noted that while removing the phragmites would restore the view from Mr. Gallo’s property, it also would be beneficial to the pond’s habitat. A 25-foot upland buffer would be included to prevent runoff from the residence. 

Billy Hajek, the village planner and member of East Hampton Town’s water quality technical advisory committee, was not at the meeting, but his recommendations were relayed by Frank Newbold, the Z.B.A. chairman. They include using a different species of grass rather than red fescue in the buffer and installing native shrubs to mark the line where the lawn ends and the buffer begins. “We’ve had a problem in the past where the line was unclear and an overzealous landscaper crossed the line inadvertently,” Mr. Newbold said. 

The applicant has a permit for the excavation from the D.E.C., but Mr. Newbold said he still needed one from the East Hampton Town Trustees. 

Later in the meeting, Jim Grimes, one of the trustees, called the excavation process Mr. Bowman outlined “the Cadillac of removal methods.” However, he said the 25-foot buffer was negligible as a mitigating factor for runoff, and he recommended a 50-foot buffer. Mr. Grimes pointed out that the village has jurisdiction over property within 125 feet of the wetland. Directly addressing Mr. Bowman, he said, “If you want to put an application in to leave that 125 feet of jurisdictional area un-irrigated and mow it no more than once or twice a year, I think the trustees would stand behind that 100 percent.” Otherwise, Mr. Grimes said he did not think the project would have “any real measurable positive impact on the pond.” 

Mr. Newbold asked the applicant to discuss a new revegetation strategy and plan for the buffer with Mr. Hajek. The board will take the matter up again on Oct. 12. 

In other action, six decisions were announced on applications from three of the village’s most well-known summer residents.

Howard Schultz, executive chairman of the Starbucks coffee chain, and his wife, Sheri Kersch-Schultz, whose property is at 14 Gracie Lane, were granted a coastal erosion hazard area variance to allow reconstruction of a swimming pool and spa with alterations, as well as a variance allowing the pool to fall 2.5 feet within the side-yard setback.

 David Geffen, the music and film executive, also was granted a coastal erosion hazard area variance, this one to construct an approximately 200-foot-long stone revetment at 199 Lily Pond Lane. An existing revetment was already deteriorating when Mr. Geffen acquired the property two years ago, and it is now exposed and collapsing. The reconstructed revetment will be between existing revetments on adjacent oceanfront properties. The variance was granted on the condition that the village engineer and code enforcement officer inspect the property once the site has been excavated, that only beach-compatible sand is used for any backfill, and that a revegetation protocol is followed. 

Carl Icahn, the investor and philanthropist, was granted variances to permit 13,440 square feet of coverage at 131 Lily Pond Lane, where the maximum under the code is 11,212 square feet and the pre-existing, nonconforming coverage is 12,535 square feet. The variance provides for a shed, patios, and a generator, and permits the generator and a shed to remain within the front-yard setback. 

A coverage variance was also granted to Brian Bigos at 20 Stratton Square to permit a swimming pool 7 feet from the rear-yard lot line where a 20-foot setback is required. Mr. Bigos’s lot is only two-tenths of an acre and abuts vacant land to the southeast and a parking lot to the southwest. The sole adjacent neighbor submitted a letter supporting his application. 

The board also granted variances to David and Georgia Benevides to install a pool house with a powder room in a pre-existing nonconforming garage that falls within the side and rear-yard setbacks at 75 Mill Hill Lane. Permission was conditioned on the installation of a six-foot-high stockade fence along sections of the property line. A swimming pool shown on plans the couple had submitted drew complaints from two neighbors, but the complaints apparently were resolved by the fence. 

Francois Simard of 116 Pantigo Road was granted variances to allow swimming pool equipment to remain 2.9 feet within the side-yard lot line and an eight-foot-high gate to be installed where the maximum height permitted is six feet.

With Reporting by Christopher Walsh

The Town of East Hampton’s push to meet 100 percent of its energy needs through renewable sources will get a ­publicity boost on Saturday, when TEDxShinnecockHills, the South Fork’s first public TEDx event, happens from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Southampton Arts Center. It will feature a number of talks broadly focusing on sustainability and environmentalism. 

With the theme of “Stasis: Conjecture-Meaning-Solemnity-Action,” the half-day gathering will feature East Hampton residents including Gordian Raacke, the executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island, Edwina von Gal, founder of the Perfect Earth Project, and Bill Chaleff, an architect specializing in “green” building. 

TEDx events are independently organized versions of the talks and conferences by the TED nonprofit organization, which began in 1984 as a conference at which technology, entertainment, and design converged. More than 11 million people subscribe to TED’s YouTube channel, where more than 2,800 videos can be seen. 

Mr. Raacke, who attended the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco last weekend, will deliver “100 Percent Renewable Energy — You Can Do It,” a talk about the climate crisis, its urgency, and civilization’s ability to solve it if immediate action commensurate with that urgency is taken. 

“I’m really focusing on the fact that we’ve waited far too long, we have done things too small so far, but the good news is we still have a small window of opportunity to start working on things that are big and can be deployed rapidly,” he said on Monday. “If we do that, we can still make it — at least that’s my take on it. To make that happen, we need all hands on deck, everybody to participate in that transition.”

While the Trump administration is dismissive of climate change and has moved to roll back environmental regulations, states and municipalities are forging a path to a clean-energy future. The Global Climate Action Summit was held days after Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed a bill requiring his state to acquire its electricity exclusively from carbon-free sources by 2045. Hawaii has set a similar goal. According to the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign, 82 cities in the United States have also set goals for meeting 100 percent of their electricity needs from renewable sources. 

“It was really encouraging to see we’re not alone here on the South Fork,” Mr. Raacke said of the summit and East Hampton’s commitment to renewable energy. “This is a movement now, a national and even global movement.” Those attending the summit discussed “how we can bring this all about, how we can reach our 100-percent goal.” 

Councilwoman Sylvia Overby of the East Hampton Town Board also referred to the summit at the board’s meeting on Tuesday. “We were one of the first,” she said of East Hampton’s aspiration to achieve the 100-percent goal by 2020. At the time, the town was one of 20 municipalities to set such a goal, she said. “Big towns, small towns, they’re all looking forward to 100-percent renewable energy,” she said. 

The hour is late, but with everyone’s cooperation, catastrophic climate change can be averted, Mr. Raacke said. “We can all be heroes, climate heroes,” he said. “We want to step up now before it’s too late.” 

Other speakers on Saturday include Nicholas Palumbo, a Southampton resident who is the executive director of sustainability programs at Suffolk Community College; Mary Beth Pfeiffer, an investigative reporter who has written extensively about Lyme disease; Himanshu Ragtah, co-founder of Profillic, a start-up that aims to revolutionize research and development through artificial intelligence, and Emily Atkin, a staff writer at The New Republic magazine. 

Tickets for TEDxShinnecockHills are $100, $80 for Southampton Arts Center members. A $250 ticket includes a cocktail dinner with the speakers tomorrow and preferential seating on Saturday. They are available at tedxshinnecockhills.org.

Before the days of the Apple Watch, there was often a piece of paper between the mechanical pieces and the hands of a pocket watch. Known as a watch paper, it normally showcased the name of the watchmaker, reminiscent of modern Swatch or Bulova faces. When a shop performed a repair or maintenance on a watch, the paper was often replaced with a new one featuring the shop’s logo or design. 

Such was the case with the watch papers, like the one at right, from the Stephen Manheimer Dominy Family Collection, which were removed from watches in the Dominy family shop in East Hampton. Many of the watch papers in this collection carry notations about the owner, service cost, or date on the reverse side. This watch paper bears the notation “Mr. Jones 8.2.7,” which may indicate something about the account or the repair work being done.

The front shows a typically elaborate image, this one bearing the name of Jno. E. Hyde, who sold watches, clocks, and jewelry out of a shop on Broadway between Maiden Lane and Liberty Street in Manhattan. Most likely, the watch that had this paper was purchased at this shop and then brought to East Hampton by the owner. 

The decorative image on the paper features a classical female figure with an anchor and a pocket watch on a chain. She may symbolize time. The image was probably engraved by a prominent engraver named Peter Maverick, given the P. Maverick signature at the bottom.

The watch paper is part of a private collection of materials originally from the Dominy family and purchased from an antiques dealer in Southampton. The materials were lent to the Long Island Collection to allow the items to be scanned and made accessible to the public.

—

Andrea Meyer is a librarian and archivist in the Long Island Collection at the East Hampton Library.

Lisa Madeleine Lawler and Peter Armon of East Hampton were married on Aug. 18 at Camp Hero State Park in Montauk. The groom’s friend Michael Koestner of Syosset officiated. A reception followed at Montauk Downs. 

The bride is the daughter of Madeline and Richard Lawler of East Hampton. The groom’s parents are Margaret and Richard Armon of Great Neck. 

“After admiring one another from afar for over a year around East Hampton, the couple finally met on the sidewalk outside the East Hampton Barber shop in October 2013,” the bride wrote. Their first date was at the Dockside in Sag Harbor, and they were engaged three years ago at Camp Hero. 

The bride is a special education teacher at the East Hampton Middle School. She graduated from East Hampton High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., and a master’s degree in special education and childhood education from the City University of New York’s Hunter College. 

The groom graduated from Locust Valley High School and works in sales at Amagansett Lumber. 

The maid of honor was Alexia Faraguna of Charlotte, N.C. The bride’s sister-in-law, Anna Lawler of Connecticut, and the groom’s sister, Denise Merrick of Poughkeepsie, were bridesmaids. The groom’s daughter, Olivia Armon, was a junior bridesmaid, and the bride’s niece, Reagan Lawler, was the flower girl.

Mr. Armon’s best man was Brian Stone of Coram. His groomsmen were his brother, James Armon of Bayville, the bride’s brother, Adam Lawler of Connecticut, and James Tucholski of Philadelphia.

The bride wore a fit-and-flare Stella York gown, while the groom was in a navy blue Joseph Abboud tuxedo. The bridesmaids wore long navy blue gowns, and the groomsmen wore khaki tuxedos.

After a brunch at the bride’s parents’ house the day after the wedding, the couple left for a honeymoon on the West Coast that included a visit to a wolf and wildlife sanctuary in Seattle and a road trip through Portland, Ore., with time in the California redwood forest, Sonoma County, and finally San Francisco.

Concerned Citizens of Montauk on Friday confirmed a new bloom of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, in the northern part of Montauk’s Fort Pond, and has urged people to avoid contact with the water and to keep their pets away from it “due to potential health concerns.”

The latest bloom was detected in sampling the organization did on Sept. 12. This follows confirmation the previous week of a harmful algal bloom detected in the southern part of the pond. At that time — on Sept. 5 — the northern part of the pond showed an elevated risk of a bloom.

“Blue-green algal blooms produce toxins that can cause health risks to people and animals,” C.C.O.M. wrote in a release on Friday.

Cyanobacteria are naturally present in low numbers in streams and lakes, but the microcystin toxins it produces in higher concentrations can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; skin, eye, or throat irritation, and allergic reactions or breathing difficulties. Those who have come in contact with the water in affected ponds have been advised to rinse with clean water and seek medical attention if they experience any of those symptoms.

C.C.O.M. is monitoring the pond in partnership with Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

While concentrations of the microcystin toxin at the northern and southern testing sites in Fort Pond are below both the drinking water and recreational use guidelines, “caution should still be taken around the pond,” C.C.O.M. said on Friday.

In its release, the organization also noted that the Fort Pond blooms would not be listed on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s harmful algal bloom notifications web page because the D.E.C. “uses a slightly higher threshold for bloom status . . . than that used by the Gobler lab,” which is based at Stony Brook Southampton.

The East Hampton Village Board grappled with drafting laws that would require septic system upgrades and restrict the use of gas-powered leaf blowers at a work session last Thursday.

Because nitrogen from traditional septic systems has been tied to ground and surface water pollution, state, county, and local agencies, as well as East Hampton Town, have mandated upgrades to technologically advanced, nitrogen-reducing systems. The Suffolk Department of Health Services has given provisional approval to five such systems.

To determine the best way to proceed, the village board examined the septic system law passed by East Hampton Town in August 2017, which included a rebate on the price of installing new systems that applies to the village.

The town legislation requires nitrogen-reducing systems for all new construction, for existing structures that undergo substantial expansion, for a sanitary system that is voluntarily replaced, and for a commercial property where more intensive use requires site plan review. Large-capacity cesspools also fall under the mandate.

Citing the main issues for discussion on Thursday, Becky Molinaro Hansen, the village administrator, said the board needed to decide if the law would apply to commercial properties and whether it would apply throughout the incorporated village or only in high-priority areas such as near wetlands. By the end of the discussion, the board agreed that the village law, like the town’s, should mandate a septic upgrade for all new construction. As for systems that are voluntarily replaced, the board proposed an exemption for residents whose existing systems fail.

Before these subjects were addressed, Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. questioned Billy Hajek, the village planner and a member of the town’s water quality technical advisory committee, on whether the county’s “provisional” approval of specific systems implied that they might not actually work. “To my knowledge the Suffolk County Health Services Department has not signed off on the notion that these systems are indeed acceptable,” the mayor said. 

Mr. Hajek confirmed that only two of the five approved systems meet the county’s goal of reducing nitrogen output by nearly 80 percent. He noted, however, that even new substandard systems are better than conventional ones. “They’re still reducing nitrogen by as much as 50 percent,” he said. 

The town’s law states that when the floor area of an existing structure is increased by 50 percent or when improvements lead to a 50-percent increase in value, septic upgrade is required. The village board suggested eliminating valuation, reducing the floor area expansion to 25 percent, and adding a septic upgrade requirement based on an increase in the number of existing bedrooms.  

Meanwhile, the board is contemplating installing a centralized waste management system in the village business district. Because Mr. Hajek said nitrogen-reducing systems for commercial use are still in an experimental stage, a decision was made to focus the impending law solely on residential properties for now. The law will apply to all residential properties, not just those in designated high-priority areas. 

In discussion of the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, a frequent source of noise complaints, East Hampton Village Police Chief Michael Tracey told the board that according to an official tally of complaints from June 1 to last Thursday, 21 out of 58 calls were related to lawn equipment. 

Rose Brown, a trustee, said she had received numerous reports about noise and recommended that the board look at how other municipalities have legislated against gas-powered equipment. Richard Lawler and Barbara Borsack, two other members of the board, said the village should lead by example and allow only battery-operated or electric devices to clear public property. Arthur Graham, a board member, emphasized that landscapers needed training on how to use leaf blowers most effectively.

Bill Fox, the owner of a landscaping business, agreed that training was important and said his firm had already started using battery-powered equipment. “The compliments I’ve been getting on the weed wackers is great,” he said. “But the blowers are not quite there yet in terms of efficiency.”

He also said that buying new equipment would greatly increase his costs, estimating that it would take $30,000 to supply his workers with 30 new battery-powered devices. He recommended that the board phase in the law over three years. The board agreed that a phase-in period was necessary. The matter was adjourned to allow a law to be drafted, after which a public hearing will be held.

The church and synagogue leaders who make up the East Hampton Clericus share a belief that they can more effectively serve their communities together than they would apart. 

The Clericus, which meets monthly, has a tradition of community action, which comes together because of questions the members ask themselves all the time, the Very Rev. Denis C. Brunelle of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton said recently.

“How do we speak truth to power? How do we bring morality back into the public discussion? How do we bring the values from our various religious traditions into the public forum?” Mr. Brunelle said. “I think that’s the purpose of the Clericus. How do our particular scriptures — be it the Hebrew testament or the Christian testament — challenge us to be better than we sometimes tend to act?”

Arriving at answers is an animating principle of what the Clericus does, Cantor-Rabbi Debra Stein of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons said. The current convener of the Clericus, she has seen the group evolve since arriving here 36 years ago.

“Originally the Clericus was an organization where we as clergy came together to study together and support each other,” Ms. Stein said. “Over the years, we have been expanding further and further and filling whatever void we see in the community. And we work very closely with town officials and local leaders. If there are mouths that need to be fed, we feed them. If there are people who need shelter, we try to shel

ter them. The collaboration is important because one congregation cannot do it alone out here.”

Ms. Stein and Mr. Brunelle, the Clericus’s convener before Ms. Stein, said their congregants often express surprise at the range of issues the group takes on. “But serving the community is what we’re supposed to do; it’s our responsibility,” said the Rev. Ryan Creamer of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton. “At the Clericus, we work together because it’s good to know that our communities are on the same page regarding living and coexisting together.”

The Rev. George W. Dietrich of the Hamptons Lutheran Church, which consists of St. Michael’s in Amagansett and Incarnation in Bridgehampton, said social justice was one of the most important aspects of the Clericus’s work. Earlier this year, the Lutheran church sponsored an anti-bias initiative called “Hate Has No Home Here.”

“When there’s real divisions like we so often see in society today,” Mr. Dietrich said, “it’s good to see people come together on things.”

The Clericus’s member congregations stretch from Wainscott to Montauk. It sponsors soup kitchens and supports Maureen’s Haven, which provides shelter for the homeless, among other projects. The Clericus also met with officials of the East Hampton School District not long ago, asking how its members could help after a number of suicides.

The group also has speakers at its meetings, which recently focused on the Deepwater Wind Farm and the opioid crisis.

A few years ago, the Clericus partnered with a Muslim mosque in Selden because of concern about an anti-Muslim backlash, and organized a march from Most Holy Trinity Church and the Jewish Center of the Hamptons to St. Luke’s under a banner reading, “No violence in the name of God.” 

Mr. Brunelle spoke to the East Hampton Town Board not long ago about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s arrests and crackdowns on foreign-born residents here. The Clericus is frequently involved in nonpartisan political undertakings as well.

“We would never tell anyone how to vote,” Mr. Dietrich said. “But I do say, ‘Vote.’ ”

In April, the Clericus issued a statement in support of VoteHamptonNY, a voter registration and turnout drive that the Rev. Walter Silva Thompson of East Hampton’s Calvary Baptist Church spearheaded in the runup to today’s primaries and the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

The Clericus also held an Aug. 27 candidates forum, inviting incumbent Republican Representative Lee Zeldin and Perry Gershon, his Democratic challenger. Only Mr. Gershon accepted. 

Mr. Brunelle noted some of the questions put to the candidate: “What were the moral values you were brought up with, and do you maintain them today or have you changed? Do you allow anyone in your life to challenge you when you stray from those values? What do you think are the moral issues confronting society today, and does your morality allow you to speak out for or against them?”

Referring to the Clericus, Rabbi Josh Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons said, “There is something really special about the collaboration that goes on here.” He noted that in Wellesley, Mass., where he worked previously, no similar interfaith group existed.

Here, the Clericus strives to present a united voice on issues and helps clergy talk to one another about their ministries. 

The Rev. Denise Allen, a first-year pastor at the East Hampton Methodist Church, said it had been challenging to improve the visibility and programming of her small church, which was without even a part-time pastor for years. She said the Clericus is a terrific resource because, “I had all these great ideas, but I wasn’t sure how to enact them. Also, laypeople get what you’re doing, but they don’t know how much of your heart you put into this — this call. And who takes care of the pastor? For me, it’s been wonderful to have the Clericus and [colleagues] that understand.”

Mr. Creamer, who summered in Amagansett as a younger man and became pastor at Most Holy Trinity 15 months ago, agreed.

“East Hampton is a big town in some ways but, truth be told, it’s a small town when it comes down to knowing everybody. With the Clericus, we are able to learn from each other. And it works very well,” he said.

A proposed Sagaponack Village law that would impose a 90-day moratorium on the installation of deer fencing will be the subject of a public hearing on Monday at 3 p.m. at Village Hall. 

The village code allows deer fencing only on agricultural property, but the definition of agricultural production has been questioned. 

The issue came to a head at a board meeting on July 9, at which two property owners, one on Parsonage Lane, the other on Bridge Lane, sought permission to build deer fences around land where they intend to grow produce. Parsonage Lane neighbors vehemently opposed the fences and questioned whether the property owners could legitimately claim to be farmers.

The village board had invited the farming community to discuss deer fencing at a meeting on July 16, and in particular, how the village could effectively distinguish between a farmer and a homeowner who decides to grow fruits or vegetables in a backyard. The board hoped the discussion would provide an answer.

During the moratorium, if enacted, there would be “neither processing nor approvals of applications for agricultural fencing” while the board defines agricultural production consistent with the standards recognized in the New York Agriculture and Markets Law.

A preliminary plan to turn East Hampton Village property on Methodist Lane into a bioswale, a drainage system designed to reduce pollution from surface runoff water, was presented to the village board last Thursday. The board also discussed a separate project to rid Town Pond of accumulated sediment.

Tony Piazza of the Piazza Horticultural Group in Southampton, who designed the bioswale installed near Town Pond in 2016, told the board that the Methodist Lane project‚ done in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation and the Ladies Village Improvement Society‚ would be broader in scope. The plan includes a meadow containing grasses, plants, and trees native to Long Island. “We’d be creating a complete ecosystem that could be used for educational purposes,” Mr. Piazza said.  

A footbridge would cross the bioswale, and in the meadow there would be pathways made from a compacted aggregate of stone and stone dust, which would create, he said, a “dense, water-permeable surface that doesn’t grow weeds and is completely safe to walk on.”

Both the bridge and the pathways would be six feet wide to accommodate two people walking side by side. There would also be a bench, for visitors to sit and take in the view. 

“It certainly is inviting,” said Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., who asked that the plan be made compliant with Americans With Disabilities Act regulations. 

The project would be funded by private donations. Anne Thomas, president of the L.V.I.S., said she had received numerous requests from residents looking for ways to memorialize Ben and Bonnie Krupinski, the East Hampton business owners and philanthropists who died in a plane crash in June. “Water quality was a priority for Bonnie,” said Ms. Thomas. The L.V.I.S., she added, “would be prepared to embellish on those offers and go farther if we needed to. We’re there to help.” 

Stephen Mahoney, a member of the Surfrider Foundation, which works to protect oceans and beaches, said that his group also had funds in hand and that there was “communitywide interest in this.”

In a separate measure designed to improve the village’s water quality, Drew Bennett, a consulting engineer, put forward a proposal to remove scores of years of siltation from Town Pond. Following a study of the pond, he said, it is estimated that the pond bottom contains 10,000 cubic yards of sediment.

Proposals to do the work will be requested from contractors, who will determine the means of removing and disposing of the material. There are two methods seen as practical, Mr. Bennett said. One is to dry out the pond to expose the sediment, and then mechanically remove it. The other is to use hydraulic suction to pump the debris into geobags.

The process would involve two phases, starting with the removal of 1,000 cubic yards of debris from the southern end of the pond as a test case, and then tackling the rest of the job. 

Contractors will have to spell out in their bids how they would dispose of or re-use the material. A permit from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation for the work, as well as the disposal or re-use, will be needed.

The timeline would be a few months, though the permitting process can add an additional three to six months, the engineer said. “Obviously, we’d like to do it in the winter,” he said, and since the coming one was not realistic, he recommended that work begin in 2019.

New blooms of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, have been confirmed in Poxabogue Pond in Sagaponack and Old Town Pond in Southampton, while harmful algal blooms have also re-emerged in Georgica Pond in East Hampton and in Wainscott Pond.

The East Hampton Town Trustees issued a notice to the public on Monday that cyanobacteria in Georgica Pond exceed federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, and that the pond is completely closed to all recreational use until further notice. 

The State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the blooms in Poxabogue Pond and Old Town Pond on Friday. The D.E.C.'s announcement added that cyanobacteria blooms persist on the South Fork in Lake Agawam in Southampton, Wickapogue Pond, Coopers Neck Pond, and Little Fresh Pond in Southampton, Sagg Pond in Sagaponack, and Mill Pond in Water Mill.

Health officials have asked residents not to use, swim, or wade in these waters and to keep pets and children away from the area. Though naturally present in lakes and streams in low numbers, blue-green algae can become abundant, forming blooms in shades of green, blue-green, yellow, brown, or red. They may produce floating scums on the surface of the water or may cause the water to take on paint-like appearance.

Contact with waters that appear scummy or discolored should be avoided. In case of contact, people and pets should rinse immediately with clean water and seek medical attention if nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; skin, eye, or throat irritation, or allergic reactions or breathing difficulties occur after contact.

The County Department of Health Services' office of ecology can be contacted at 631-852-5760 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to report a suspected cyanobacteria bloom at a body of water that contains a county-permitted bathing beach. The office can also be contacted by email at [email protected].

To report a suspected blue-green algae bloom that is in a body of water that does not contain a county permitted bathing beach, residents have been asked to contact the D.E.C.'s division of water at 518-402-8179 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or via email at [email protected].

The D.E.C.’s Harmful Algal Bloom notification page includes a comprehensive list of affected water bodies in New York State.