An Experiment Expands

East Hampton Village is about to jump on the water-quality train in a big way. After a discussion early this month, it was clear that the village board’s wait-and-see position on wastewater had gone on long enough and that it was ready to mandate low-nitrogen septic systems.

Elevated nitrogen levels are a cause of harmful algae blooms in fresh water and degradation of the marine ecosystem. That said, results of the few state tests of East End bays have been below the Peconic Estuary Program’s level of concern.

The Town of East Hampton led the way in 2017, requiring that modern waste disposal be mandated for new construction. Businesses that had failed to follow an Environmental Protection Agency rule on the elimination of cesspools were targeted. Upgrades also were part of the law, with penalties of up to $500 a day while a violation continued. Shortly after East Hampton anted up, Southampton passed a similar law targeting new houses, “major” upgrades, and increases of 25 percent or more of floor area in high-priority areas. 

Costs for the advanced, low-nitrogen wastewater systems can reach $20,000 for a house, with required annual maintenance on top of that. Rebates are available to help offset installation but not maintenance bills, with cash for the rebates coming from the community preservation fund, up to 20 percent annually. 

It is too early in the game to know if the modern systems, which cost more than traditional leaching pools, will result in demonstrable improvement of freshwater and marine ecosystems. This uncertainty comes from the lack of baseline studies of nitrogen levels, though some new studies are now underway. Given the lack of data, the program is really little more than a poorly designed experiment. Therefore, it is only fair that government provide subsidies in the form of the rebates. 

We remain concerned, however, about the community preservation fund being used on such a large scale for expensive technology that is untested. If East Hampton Village decides to sign on, it should seek a different funding source. Every dollar spent on unproven water quality projects is a dollar less for the fund’s original purpose — land and historic preservation. 

Nitrogen, this era’s environmental bete noire, also comes from road runoff, agriculture, lawn fertilizers, and atmospheric sources. Further limiting development in watersheds could well prove to be the most beneficial investment in the long run. About low-nitrogen systems, no one knows.