Suffolk County is doubling down on protecting its most vital resource, clean water.
The U.S. Geological Survey will monitor five rivers across the county for potential toxins from stormwater runoff. They include the Connetquot, Peconic, Nissequogue and Carlls rivers, as well as Sampawams Creek.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said this is just a first step.
“Some of their findings are going to call us to action," Romaine said. "We need to clean our streams, our creeks, and eventually our bay. And we do that by getting rid of pollutants, and it’s not going to be easy.”
Funding comes from Suffolk’s Water Quality Restoration Act, passed by the legislature last November. Kevin McCaffrey is the legislature’s presiding officer.
"Unless we protect those streams and those waterways, we are still going to have those continuing problems on the Great South Bay regardless of whether or not we reduce the nitrates through sewers and IA systems,” McCaffrey said.
There are more than 50 streams and rivers that feed into Long Island’s Great South Bay. The bay is a critical habitat for fish and other marine life. It also supports a commercial fishing industry, including shellfish, which are slowly making a comeback thanks to seeding and habitat restoration.
Officials say another goal is to increase transparency on the issue of water quality. The county’s office building in Hauppauge will feature a board displaying real-time findings from the survey following a rainfall or major weather event.
