Despite recent rainfall, water quality did not significantly worsen this week compared to last week, according to Concerned Citizens of Montauk, and some sites even improved, particularly in East Hampton and Accabonac Harbor.
However, C.C.O.M.'s water testing this week continues to show elevated levels of enterococcus bacteria at many of its test sites, and results from 10 Montauk sites were not included in the results released on Wednesday because of suspected procedural errors. These sites are being retested ahead of C.C.O.M.'s next regular sampling day, which is Monday, with results anticipated on Friday, June 27. The public has been advised to recreate with caution.
Prolonged rainfall across multiple days in the last week has likely influenced the poor water quality results detected, according to C.C.O.M.
Enterococcus, bacteria commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals, is often used as an indicator of water contamination, particularly by fecal matter. According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, recreational waters are considered unsafe if enterococcus levels exceed 104 colony forming units, or C.F.U., per 100 milliliters for marine water and 61 C.F.U. per 100 milliliters for freshwater.
C.C.O.M.'s latest data include a measurement of 256 C.F.U./100 mL at the launch ramp in Montauk's Fort Pond. The result represents a worsening this week from medium (36 to 104 C.F.U./100 mL) to high enterococcus detected. Its test at the northern, opposite end of the pond, on Industrial Road, was not included in the results. Other high measurements were at the Lake Montauk harbor, where 145 C.F.U./100 mL was measured, and at Lake Montauk's Little Reed Pond Creek, where the reading was 111 C.F.U./100 mL.
In Amagansett, a medium bacteria reading of 70 C.F.U./100 mL was measured at Fresh Pond Creek.
C.C.O.M., in partnership with the Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, also monitors Fort Pond for toxic blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, in the summer. C.C.O.M. delivers samples to the Gobler Lab, which shares bloom occurrences online through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's harmful algal bloom notification page. Blue-green levels at 25 micrograms per liter and above are an indication of a bloom and trigger toxicity testing.
The samples on June 9 at Fort Pond's Industrial Road and the ramp showed no blooms present, with measurements of 0.31 and 0.98 micrograms per liter respectively.
