Consultant Outlines Goals for Hook Pond Restoration

Hook Pond, which is surrounded on three sides by some of the most expensive property in East Hampton Village and the Maidstone Club’s golf course, will not be returned to health unless more than 70 percent of its nitrogen and phosphorus is removed. That was the stark assessment given village officials and residents by a consultant on Saturday.

In other words, Pio Lombardo, principal of the firm conducting water quality studies for the town and village, said, the water quality of Hook Pond is poor, with dangerously low levels of dissolved oxygen, a condition fatal to aquatic life.

Accumulated sediment, stormwater and residential wastewater discharge, and sources such as fertilizer, waterfowl feces, and agricultural practices are responsible for the elevated phosphorus and nitrogen, he said. Such excessive levels promote harmful algal growth, which in turn deplete dissolved oxygen. To achieve state and federal water quality standards, Mr. Lombardo said, “The initial analysis says a significant level of effort is going to be needed.”

The pond’s watershed consists of two sub-watersheds — an area to the east, including the Nature Trail and Wildlife Sanctuary, and, to the west, the village green and Town Pond, which discharges into Hook Pond. Natural springs in Hook Pond also add groundwater to it, he said.

Other areas of concern include Fithian Lane and “North Main Street all the way down to Egypt Lane,” which Mr. Lombardo attributed to high groundwater. “We wouldn’t be surprised,” he said, “if those septic systems are sitting in groundwater, which causes bacterial contamination as well as excess nitrogen and phosphorus contributions.”

Sediment and stormwater are the pond’s primary sources of phosphorus, while stormwater and wastewater contribute nitrogen. Sediments “are feeding the algae in the pond. Until that is stopped, there’s very little that can be done,” Mr. Lombardo said. The best approach to water-quality protection, he said, “is no direct discharges. That stormwater should go into the ground and get filtered prior to getting into the water body.”

Describing a management and restoration project, Mr. Lombardo said the depth of Hook Pond’s sediment and water would be measured, as would those of Town Pond, where conditions are similarly poor. “One of the objectives,” Mr. Lombardo said, “may be for the removal of the sediments.” Sediment removal, however, may be problematic: If it is contaminated, removal is expensive. If not, he said, it can be reused or deposited in a landfill.

In another remediation effort, a sediment trap would capture stormwater going into Town Pond. From there, he said, “it would go into a sedimentation tank to get rid of the solids, in particular,” and from there to a rain garden, a garden designed to maximize nitrogen and phosphorus removal before the water seeps into the ground and is discharged into groundwater. Such a project can be implemented quickly and would, Mr. Lombardo said, “reduce the damage that’s continually being done.”

Also planned is a demonstration project, comprising a rain garden and stormwater reuse, at the Gardiner home lot, the James Lane property purchased by the town last year using the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund. Such a project, Mr. Lombardo said, might encourage stormwater reuse at the Maidstone Club. Preliminary calculations, he said, indicate that virtually all of the private club’s irrigation needs could be met with stormwater from the Hook Pond watershed. “Our view is, water reuse is the wise way to go for water quality protection,” he said. Emil Henry, president of the Maidstone Club, did not return a call seeking comment. 

Mr. Lombardo also addressed how the necessary work might be funded, recommending the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and Department of State as potential sources. “You can establish a special water quality protection district, like any other improvement district,” he told officials, including Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. and Becky Molinaro, the village administrator.

“There’s a lot to digest and a lot more that we have to learn,” Mayor Rickenbach said, adding, “The village will commit funding as applicable. We will look for grant monies, and likewise some private funding.”