The Southampton Town Board has approved funding to match recent fund-raising efforts to implement a water quality improvement project plan for Sagg Pond and Sagg Inlet, which is at the south end of the pond.
The inlet, known as the Sagaponack cut, is an intermittent channel connecting Sagg Pond to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by 25 acres of dunes, a known nesting ground for shorebirds.
On Tuesday night, the town board allocated $182,000 from the community preservation fund for water quality projects. Residents have already raised $224,000 through the Peconic Land Trust and the Stony Brook Foundation to fund several tasks in a four-year study that will be done by Stony Brook University's Christopher Gobler.
The study will also assist town trustees in managing the flushing of Sagg Pond by opening the cut, which helps alleviate contaminants and restore good conditions for shellfish, wetland vegetation, and wetland-dependent wildlife, according to a statement released by the town on Tuesday.
“The Sagaponack cut is recognized as an important natural resource by both the federal and state agencies as a significant habitat for both marine and wildlife. I am proud that the Town of Southampton, in conjunction with other public and private partners, is able to support this project and the areas around Sagg Pond, and the pond itself, by managing the cut that exchanges water through it to the ocean,” Councilman John Bouvier said in the statement.
“To impact the crisis facing our coastal ponds and bays requires public and private funding to understand the sources and to implement the best course of action to address them," John v.H. Halsey, the president of Peconic Land Trust, said in the statement.