Politicians and environmentalists have long attributed Long Island’s degrading water quality to excessive nitrogen in the groundwater. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has called nitrogen Long Island’s "public enemy number 1," but what makes it so dangerous?
In Suffolk County nitrogen contamination comes from septic tanks that leak wastewater into the ground.
Nitrogen in and of itself is not harmful. Almost all life needs nitrogen to survive: plants need it in order to grow, and the air is mostly nitrogen but does not cause any harm.
Nitrate compounds are what can damage the environment and cause health risks to nearby residents.
Nitrates are formed in wastewater and are more dangerous when in high enough concentrations in septic tanks.
The Environmental Protection Agency says the unsafe limit of nitrate in groundwater is ten milliliters per liter of water.
A 2015 study found that the concentration of nitrates on Long Island had increased 80 percent since 1987.
New York State researchers are looking into new ways to passively take nitrogen out of septic tanks before they leak.
