Water News: Long Island

We're excited to release our policy priorities for Long Island - our 2021-2022 Long Island Policy Agenda. We will focus

Groundwater on Long Island will soon be healthier. A new Soil Wash Plant facility recently opened on Long Island that will help to protect groundwater and facilitate more brownfield site remediation.

Many towns in New York State are currently suffering from harmful algal blooms. In order to combat them, the Department of Environmental Conservation is using monitoring technology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to detect HABs early.

Suffolk County officials recently revealed a $4 billion plan to fight nitrogen pollution on Long Island’s surface waters. The 50-year Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan aims to upgrade and replace aging septic systems in hundreds of thousands of homes and replace them with modern sewage systems. 

Some Suffolk County communities may soon be integrated into a new public sewer treatment system that would protect public and environmental health from this avoidable form of pollution. There is currently $390 million in federal and state funds ready to be used to advance sewer expansion projects as part of the Suffolk County Coastal Resiliency Initiative that was created after Hurricane Sandy.

Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) found that toxic chemicals in drinking water can be harmful at much lower levels than the EPA previously reported as safe. Newly disclosed e-mails between members of the EPA revealed that the agency tried to keep this information hidden to avoid conflict with the public and a negative reaction from the media.