Water Quality

Serious attention is now being paid to water quality in the Town of East Hampton after a patchwork effort dating back decades. Georgica Pond, which has been closed to the taking of shellfish for years due to pollution, was found to be contaminated with a form of toxic algae about a year ago and closed to crabbing, its last remaining active harvest.

Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the local Surfrider Foundation released test results this week that found elevated bacteria in a dreen that crosses a popular ocean beach and at several places in Lake Montauk. If there ever was any question about what is causing some of these results, the C.C.O.M.-Surfrider tests can dispel it.

To take just one location, close to a former town bathing beach at South Lake Drive, the highest readings come after Memorial Day, with the greatest spikes around the middle of July. Called East Creek on the surfrider.org website, this narrow waterway carries much of the more of less unfiltered waste from the Ditch Plain area’s many houses into the lake. In this case, the samples are checked for enterococcus, a form of intestinal bacteria found in humans; what other contaminants may be present, including household chemicals and dissolved pharmaceuticals, is subject to conjecture.

East Hampton Town officials have targeted undeveloped lots around Lake Montauk for purchase using money from the community preservation fund. This initiative will probably prevent conditions from getting much worse. But other measures will have to be taken to see long-term improvement.

Several levels of government, including town and village officials, and representatives of the Nature Conservancy and other groups have begun meeting to discuss possible solutions. These may include an educational campaign aimed at waterfront property owners to seek better compliance with rules about fertilizers, lawns, and clearing, among other methods of watershed protection. Another option, if money could be set aside, is an incentive program to replace outdated or failing septic systems.

Meanwhile, in Sag Harbor the village board was expected to vote last night to impose a moratorium on building near its waterfront as development pressure swells beyond the existing regulations’ ability to control it. And East Hampton Town is working on a comprehensive wastewater study, which should provide some more answers.

Making water quality a top priority is the right thing to do in a region that so values its surroundings. It is heartening to see people inside and outside of government taking it so seriously.