The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a virtual public information session next Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. about a new water quality study of Long Island Sound embayments.
The study is being conducted as part of the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan and will explore potential technologies available to exchange more seawater into water bodies along Long Island Sound to help reduce the accumulation of nutrients, particularly nitrogen.
More information and a link to the session are at the D.E.C.’s Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan webpage at on.ny.gov/3JcPYps.
The study is one of many efforts by the D.E.C., Suffolk and Nassau Counties, and other entities to reduce nitrogen pollution throughout Long Island’s surface and ground waters. It is partly a result of Nassau and Suffolk’s subwatershed studies, which showed that some bays will not be able to meet their water quality goals by using current pollution-reduction strategies.
Three types of Long Island water bodies are included in the study: shallow harbors, harbors with a sand spit, and tidal inlets. The study aims to help scientists and planners in their work on reducing pollution by examining practices such as dredging, trenching, or piping seawater.
It is being funded through a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Study. Among other initiatives, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed expansion of Stony Brook University’s Center for Clean Water Technology is looking to promote improved septic and wastewater treatment systems to treat phosphorus and nitrogen.