IN RESPONSE TO: draft Southampton Town's draft Critical Wildlands & Groundwater Protection Plan

SOUTH FORK GROUNDWATER TASK FORCE'S (Partial Version)

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION PLAN
(Watershed Protection/Management Plan)

Julie Penny
August 27, 2002

GOALS
  • Keeping "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas") pristine. 1
  • Guarantee South Fork residents protection of the Town's areas of high-quality potable drinking water for now and the distant future located in its "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas").
  • Prioritize land in the "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas") by quantity and quality.
  • Reduce nitrates going into the bay by 25% (as recommended by the NYS Peconic Estuary Plan for bay/estuary protection and viability) (NOTE: resident and SCWA public wells (Roses' Grove) in the northern half of this zone are generally .01 - .02 ppm (practically pure).
  • Cap Pumpage -(amongst other things, conserving volume of water in "critical deep-water recharge areas" in order to keep nitrates (and other noxious agents) as dilute as possible.
  • Identify and Map every source of contamination-besides landfills and superfund sites-that is (spills, leaks, leaching of: chemicals, volatiles, MTBE, petrochemicals, etc.) by businesses, town, and other sources whose contamination appear on site and whose plumes spread to resident(s)' homes and/or neighborhoods within the "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas"). And, to Post them on Town Website.
  • Remediation of such contaminated sites.
  • Dissemination of all contamination sites to the public



1 Section 330-63 of the Southampton Town Code shows how important our deep-water recharge regions are. The code says: "A…It is the policy of the Town Board to protect the town's supply of water in its pristine state and prevent degradation of this valuable and essential resource.
"B. The Town Master Plan and subsequent studies and updates have located geographic areas in the town where water recharge into the aquifers is the deepest and therefore the greatest recharge occurs. These areas have been designated as water catchment regions."
"C. These water catchment regions affect the water quality of the entire town. The types of land use which occur above the water catchment regions directly impact upon the aquifer and its quality. Thus, the type of land use in the water catchment regions must be compatible with the function of water recharge to ensure the goal of protecting the drinking supply of the town."
IMPLEMENTATION
ACQUISITION of deep-water recharge land in SGPA's

REDUCTION OF NITRATES BY:

  • Reducing the amount of nitrates in runoff, and, in the underflow going into the bay
  • Reductions in nitrates from golf courses located in the Peconic Estuary Coastal Zone
  • Golf courses not to exceed 1ppm nitrates going into "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas)
  • Housing developments not to exceed 1ppm nitrates going into "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas)
  • Restaurants not to exceed 1ppm nitrates going into "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas")
REDUCTIONS IN PHOSPHATES:

Reduce phosphates to protect surface waters from eutrophication.

WATER PUMPAGE:

CAPS ON water pumpage in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas") to prevent:

  • Wedges of salt-water intrusion puncturing the fresh water lens
  • Lowering of water table
  • Lowering of ponds (e.g. Trout Pond is in The Bridge's Watershed)
  • Reductions in stream flow
  • Drying of wetlands
  • Ability to dilute nitrates and other noxious agents entering water table in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas)
REDUCTION OF CHEMICALS
  • In "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas)
  • Reduction of the catch-all "Guideline" model of 50 ppb for drinking water. (For example, in cases where no research data exists a 50ppb threshold is set as a guideline. However, chemicals of the same class (where data is sufficient) may set a standard of only 1-5 ppb for drinking water safety. ("Guidelines" and "standards" are different.)
  • No storage of chemicals in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment" areas.)
  • No "swapping" for use of fertilizers in "critical deep-water areas" (Town's "catchment" areas) when a site's 15% allotment in fertilization has been reached.
  • Reductions in size of lawns.
GOLF COURSES (in "critical deep-water recharge areas." (Town's "catchment" areas).
  • No further golf courses in "critical deep-water recharge areas." (Town's "catchment" areas.
  • Remediation of contamination on contaminated golf courses.
  • Cessation of the application of nitrates until their nitrate levels test at 1 ppm or under.
  • Cessation of the application of pesticides until the level of chemicals test below detection levels.
  • Monitoring of golf course independent of Town and Golf Course Operators
  • Oversight and compliance of golf course's protocols independent of Town and Golf Course Operators
JUNKYARDS
Removal of car junkyards in "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas")

BURIED RESIDENTIAL FUEL TANKS
Removal of them "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas") through tax rebates and incentives

CREATE A NATURAL RESOURCE TAX in the "critical deep-water recharge areas" (Town's "catchment areas")

  • Set at 3 cents per gallon for usage beyond 147,000 gallons pumped per year. (147,000 is amount used by one household per year.)
EDUCATE

  1. HOMEOWNERS TO:
    have less lawns ("go wild" - a real boon to birds, butterflies, wildlife )
    use indigenous plants
    organically maintain lawns and gardens
    use landscapers who use organics

  2. Schools
    Educate School Boards
    PTA
    Teachers
    Schoolchildren

  3. Businesses

  4. Cultural Institutions

    (same as above re. lawns, plantings, organics)
    (And, HOW OUR AQUIFER WORKS)

  5. Government
    • Educate Town Boards, Planning Boards, Conservation Boards, Town Trustees, Dept. of Land Management, Hwy. Dept., Parks Dept.
EDUCATE BY:
  • AGGRESSIVE, FULL-SATURATION TOWN EFFORT
    1. SPEAKER'S BUREAU
    2. CREATE VIDEOTAPES
    3. LITERATURE


  • EXPLAIN:
    1. How Our Aquifer Works;
    2. Health effects of nitrates and pesticides (Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Center for Children's Health and the Environment is a tremendous resource of information)
    3. NON-CHEMICAL ALTERNATIVES to lawns and gardens


  • TOWN DISSEMINATE VIDEOTAPE to all schools, libraries, civic groups (Elks, Kiwanis,) church groups, etc.

  • TOWN WEBSITE
    That shows these videotapes
    Gives this information
PUBLISH
  • ORGANIC RESOURCE DIRECTORY (that gives information on organic products, landscapers, stores, methods,
  • BROCHURE (like East Hampton's PURE -Pesticide Use Reduction Education)
  • Have it online
  • Disseminate it to schools, libraries, busineses,
AVAILABLE-
  • Have copies available at Town Hall in Town Clerk's Office; at Planning counter
  • TOWN RADIO ADS on the subject
    1. Discouraging the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
    2. Promoting less lawns, organic alternatives, indigenous species
WHAT HASN'T BEEN TESTED IN PUBLIC WATER
(until recently and is now showing up in)
  • Prescription drugs (heart medications, anti-depressants, antibiotics, etc.)
  • Over-the-Counter drugs
  • Caffeine
  • Personal Care Products
  • Viruses
  • Pesticide degradates (break-down products)
  • The water is not tested for all pesticides, only some of them
    --Interactions of degradates with other pesticides is unknown and needs to be studied--
  • Chlorine potentiates harmful effects of VOC's in public water

PUBLIC WATER - some pipes are old, and harmful to health



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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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