Protection and remediation of water bodies were on the agenda at last Thursday's meeting of the East Hampton Town Board. Public hearings on proposals to expand the water protection district and award grants to six projects drew only positive comment from the public and the board.
The water protection district identifies areas in the town that have the greatest potential impact on important water bodies, based on groundwater travel time and density of use. It designates priority areas for wastewater system upgrades, and determines which homeowners qualify for the town's maximum septic system-upgrade incentive of $20,000.
The district was developed in 2017 based on the harbor protection overlay district, approximately the zero to two-year groundwater travel time. Priority areas identified in the comprehensive wastewater management plan include the south Three Mile Harbor watershed, downtown Montauk, Ditch Plain and the West Lake dock area, also in Montauk; and the East Hampton Village commercial district.
Mellissa Winslow, a senior environmental analyst in the Natural Resources Department, told the board that the district's boundary lines should be modified to encompass a zero to 10-year groundwater travel time, as the zero-to-two-year zone is not sufficient to protect water bodies. The expansion can help to spur septic-system upgrades in sensitive areas, she said.
The recommendation is based on Suffolk County's "subwatersheds" plan issued last year, which created more detailed and accurate groundwater travel time maps than those used to develop the water protection district, Ms. Winslow explained.
An expanded water protection district should also encompass the Clearwater Beach neighborhood in Springs, she said, given its high density. "This really should have been included in the original iteration," Ms. Winslow said, citing new data collected from Hog Creek through a groundwater study conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension suggesting "very high nitrate levels" there.
Two residents calling in to the virtual meeting voiced support for specific recommendations for grant awards, which are funded with money from the community preservation fund earmarked for water quality improvement. Sara Davison, executive director of the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, cited two recommendations aimed at remediating conditions where blue-green algae have fouled the pond during several recent summers.
The committee's recommendations include a $50,000 award to the Georgica foundation to design bioswales and stormwater catch basins at the rest stop on Montauk Highway in Wainscott. Another $74,428 was recommended for the Peconic Land Trust, which has bought the nearby pond-front parcel that most recently housed the Il Mulino restaurant, for a permeable reactive barrier along the shoreline. "Together, these two projects will have significant impact on reducing nitrogen and bacteria inputs to the pond," Ms. Davison said, while improving "an unsightly area" and public access.
Jeff Miszner, treasurer of the Ninevah Beach Property Owners Association in Sag Harbor, called to support the committee's recommendation for a $52,275 grant for rain gardens along Harding Terrace, to capture and treat stormwater runoff to wetlands and Little Northwest Creek. The association will contract with a landscaper to maintain the rain gardens and ensure their effectiveness. The project will have an immediate effect, Mr. Miszner said.
The committee also recommended a $200,000 award to the Montauk Shores condominium development for a sewage treatment plant, and $288,800 to Sag Harbor Village to increase the service area for its municipal sewage treatment plant, which has excess capacity. Also recommended, pending availability of funding, is a $79,225 award to the Cornell Cooperative Extension for the second phase of a multipurpose permeable reactive barrier to remediate a plume of ammonium entering Accabonac Harbor.
The hearings followed recommendations from the town's water quality technical advisory committee earlier this year.
