Eye Control Of Montauk Water

Pipeline Extension Is Endorsed

Calling it "the best . . . short-term, low-cost solution to a perennial crisis," William D. Akin, the president of Concerned Citizens of Montauk, reluctantly offered his group's endorsement of a Suffolk County Water Authority pipeline extension that will bring water from East Hampton to Montauk.

C.C.O.M. has often spoken out against the water main extension in the past, expressing some of the concerns that had been raised frequently by town officials.

If public water was available, would more of the constrained lots in Montauk be developed? What would happen if all the Water Authority's wells in Montauk went bad? And would the Water Authority still follow through with a years-old proposal to tap the aquifer in Montauk's Hither Woods if it is already bringing water in from the west?

Firefighting Needs

"I doubt this is the last time we face a water crisis," Mr. Akin said at a hearing on the project at East Hampton Town Hall Friday. He pointed out that the Suffolk County Water Authority only supplies a fraction of the water in Montauk now, and asked about the condition of private wells there.

Richard F. White Jr., the chairman of the Montauk Board of Fire Commissioners, believes the extension of the water main will serve firefighting needs in Montauk.

The extension would allow the Fire Department to tap into hydrants for "virtually every house on Route 27, south to Old Montauk Highway," he said, including some of the large resorts along the road there. As a result, he said, the fire portion of many people's home owners insurance "should drop, in some cases significantly."

The Growth Question

The project got the support of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, the Montauk Chamber of Commerce, the East Hampton Business Alliance, and the Montauk Beach Property Owners Association, as well.

Sherry Wolfe and John Keeshan of the Business Alliance, along with Robert Lamparter of the property owners association, suggested that the Water Authority should coordinate its efforts with the Long Island Lighting Company, so that pipeline and electrical wires would be laid in the same trench at the same time.

The authority has characterized the extension as a way to better supply its existing system in Montauk, rather than to provide service to new customers.

Robert DeLuca, the executive director of the Group for the South Fork, urged the town to continue to proceed cautiously on the water main extension, despite these assurances, because it had the potential to encourage growth.

In the future, Mr. DeLuca said, "the County Health Department may require that [people] connect in to public water if it's available."

He suggested the town develop its own guidelines for restricting water use and volunteered to help town officials create those guidelines.

Hy Brodsky asked the Town Board to put any new Water Authority project on hold. He pointed out that only a third of Montauk is hooked up to public water, and said the other two-thirds of the population is not having any problems with its water.

Vision Needed

"The [proposed] routes, any of them, are going through an area not supplied or serviced by the Suffolk County Water Authority," he said. He suggested that instead of a 16-inch main to bring both drinking and firefighting water to Montauk, the Water Authority sink its new well in Montauk and use an eight-inch main that would be solely dedicated to fire- fighting.

"We have to okay this with conditions," said Larry Penny, the town's natural resources director. Those include making sure the Water Authority, the Health Department, and the town pledge to work together to craft a water management plan for all of East Hampton, "so we're not always doing things in hindsight, retroactively or defensively."

The town needs to "have some vision" about the future of its groundwater, he said. "There are a lot of misuses of water . . . like bringing public water to water a golf course," he said.

The hearing will be left open for written comments until Monday.