Recommendations for the Critical Wildlands & Groundwater Protection Plan
May - June 2002 (made prior to release of Town's plan)
Julie Penny

  • 25% reduction of nitrates going into the bay as per the "Peconic Estuary Program" enacted by the NYS DEC & signed by Governor Pataki for implementation.
  • Prioritize & Acquire those lands in our NYS "Special Groundwater Protection Areas" (SGPA) that are of the highest quality and volume.
  • Map (besides the superfund sites) all contamination (and keep it updated) of spills: MTBE, petroleum, VOC's, all bulk sites of chemicals (swimming pool builders, Town, golf courses, industries, Etc.), areas of high-iron content, salt-water intrusion, both in and out of the "target area."
  • Upzone.
  • Create a "Watershed Protection Law"
  • Create a Department of Watershed Protection and Management staffed by hydrogeologist
  • Said department will have POLICE powers.
  • Continue with the United States Geological Survey's monitoring/gathering crucial data in the SGPA's.
  • Create golf course law and enforce it.
  • Place "Monitoring Well" outside and downgradient of The Bridge golf course on adjacent Town owned property so that testing can be done at any time and independent of the golf course's control.
  • Create "oversight committees" that include a citizens component to be sure laws are being adhered to and that golf courses are in compliance.
  • No "mining" of water in SGPA's except by municipalities
  • Preserve language of Aquifer Protection Overlay District of Town Code when rewriting the New Code to preserve it's "anti-degradation policy" - [Sections: §330-63 A,B,C,D,E,F,G / §330-66 A,B,C, D]
  • Measures to protect private wells as well as public wellheads.
  • Encourage water conservation.
  • Make Models of Depletion (model and project how SCWA public wells, golf courses affect residential wells nearby/ ponds/ wetlands/how current & future development will effect draw-down and upconing.
  • Get & update data on NYS Engineer's test wells on South Fork to monitor reductions in "recharge' due to development.
  • Use sand, rather than salt, on roadways when possible.
  • CAPS on golf course & SCWA water pumpage in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas") to prevent:
    1. Wedges of salt-water intrusion puncturing the fresh water lens
    2. Lowering of water table
    3. Lowering of ponds (e.g. Trout Pond is in The Bridge's Watershed)
    4. Reductions in stream flow
    5. Drying of wetlands
    6. Ability to dilute nitrates and other noxious agents entering water table in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas)
  • Make sure private wells (with old submersible-style pumps) are abandoned correctly if switching to "public water" to prevent contamination of the groundwater.
  • Aggressive Education Program by Town to educate schools, homeowners, Town Boards & Departments, Cultural Institutions, Civic Groups, etc. on how to maintain lawns and gardens without using dangerous chemicals, instructing how our deep-water recharge aquifer works; presenting studies on the health effects of pesticides and nitrates.
  • Town Permit for Landscapers / completion of Town Education course
  • Map areas of contamination and keep it updated
  • Strong Enforcement of Town Code to prevent degradation of this vital natural resource.
  • Southampton & East Hampton to work in conjunction in fashioning/implementing a regional watershed protection plan for the South Fork as a unit.
  • Suffolk County Water Authority to work in conjunction with both towns in creating its own Master Plan for the protection of the South Fork's aquifer that synchronizes with the towns' needs.
  • Inventory & map buried residential fuel tanks; give tax breaks, subsidies for their removal




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South Fork Groundwater Task Force
PO BOX 2360    Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone/Fax: 631 - 725 - 6200

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