Featured Story

Projects approved to preserve Shelter Island water quality

REPORTER FILE PHOTO | American Legion Hall in the Center is almost certain to receive a state-of-the-art septic system with the help of Suffolk County.
REPORTER FILE PHOTO | American Legion Hall in the Center is almost certain to receive a state-of-the-art septic system with the help of Suffolk County.

Two for two.

That’s the score for Shelter Island applying for support in the ongoing battle to preserve the quality of ground water and the health of creeks and surrounding bays.

At the Town Board work session Tuesday, Supervisor Jim Dougherty announced that Sylvester Manor has received a county grant to construct a septic system to treat residential wastewater as a pilot project.

Later in the day, Mr. Dougherty announced that the Suffolk County Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program had approved funds to install a state-of-the-art septic system at the American Legion Hall. The next step is for the Suffolk County Legislature to give the final go-ahead. “Every sign is the Legislature approval should be pro forma and come shortly,” Mr. Dougherty said Tuesday.

The Legion Hall — a multi purpose facility that includes the Youth Center — project was Town Engineer John Cronin’s idea that he pursued and and made the case for the Island to the county.

The maximum award for a grant is $125,00 with the town matching 50 percent of the total amount.

The Sylvester Manor project is called a “Recirculating Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands” system. This relatively new technology is one of the most environmentally safe systems available. According to Purdue University, “An RVF wetland’s relatively small footprint and high degree of treatment should improve the performance of the soil absorption system by minimizing the amount of solids and nutrients entering the soil infiltration system.”

The issue of water pollution, called “a crisis,” by several Island officials, has taken center stage on the local, county and state levels of late. Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) has drafted a bill that would allow towns, if they wish, to take a portion up to 20 percent of the Community Preservation Fund — a 2 percent tax on real estate deals that funds open space acquisitions — and use the money to improve water quality on the East End.

His proposal was met with strong local opposition when first floated, but the idea is gaining momentum among elected officials on all levels.