Skip to main content

Water Unsafe After Heavy Rains

Thu, 08/22/2024 - 11:54
Durell Godfrey

After heavy rain and flash flooding on Sunday, Concerned Citizens of Montauk’s weekly tests of water samples collected at sites in Montauk, Napeague, Amagansett, Springs, and East Hampton the following day revealed high levels of enterococcus bacteria at nearly every spot the organization monitors.

“The only safe water bodies that we test are the Long Island Sound on Soundview Drive beach” and a spot on the east side of Napeague Harbor, Kay Tyler, C.C.O.M.’s executive director, wrote in her report. 

“All other tests revealed through-the-roof dangerous bacteria levels,” even sites on the ocean such as Ditch Plain and Surfside Place. “The overwhelming floods dumped water directly into these sampling sites.”

This week, C.C.O.M. urged people to avoid direct contact with the water through swimming, surfing, and other water sports. Enterococcus bacteria are found in human and animal intestines and are an indicator of contamination by fecal matter in particular. Contact with water that has high enterococcus levels can “significantly increase the risk of gastrointestinal illness, infections, and other health issues,” according to C.C.O.M.

The organization also noted a harmful bloom of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, in Montauk’s Fort Pond last week. Contact with or ingestion of water where these toxic blooms are detected can sicken people and pets, causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin or throat irritations, and even “allergic reactions or asthma-like breathing difficulties.”

Villages

Bluebirds Thriving in East Hampton

“I think this is the most concentrated spot for bluebirds in all of New York State,” said Joe Giunta on a drizzly Saturday morning as he walked along a segment of a bluebird trail on Daniel’s Hole Road, adjacent to 600 acres of relatively open space.

Jul 3, 2025

Cyclists, Welcome to the Thunderdome

Recent roadwork on the shoulder of Route 114 between East Hampton and Sag Harbor has highlighted a truth long known to cyclists on the South Fork: Biking here can be terrifying.

Jul 3, 2025

On Democracy’s Guardrails

A discussion of the prosecutorial process and enforcing legal limits on the Trump administration will introduce a new era for the Hamptons Institute discussion series at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Monday at 7 p.m.

Jul 3, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.