Irrigation Committee chair meets with Town Board

A much-anticipated preliminary report of the town’s Irrigation Committee came early.

The report was scheduled to be presented to the Town Board December 3, but Committee Chairman Thom Milton addressed the board at its work session Tuesday.

Mr. Milton spoke in general terms on the committee’s work to date and said a full, detailed report will be presented to the board the first week in February.

The committee was set up in response to a Town Board-imposed moratorium on a law set to kick in last September 1 regulating in-ground irrigation systems on the Island. Passed originally in 2003, the law banned the installation of new systems to prevent droughts, but grandfathered in systems already in place. The law stipulated that by September 2013 all systems would have to be inoperable. Coming up to the deadline in August and hearing some heated exchanges, the board voted for the moratorium to further study the issue.

Mr. Milton said his brief to committee members had been to find facts and not air opinions on the issue, and the committee had responded positively. He praised committee members, noting that he was something like the “coach of an All-Star team.”

Members had brought much-needed knowledge to meetings and have “a commitment to do what is right for the community,” Mr. Milton said.

Irrigation systems have been mapped and the committee is looking seriously at new irrigation technologies that claim water-saving features.

Mr. Milton compared the committee’s work so far to painting a room, by first applying a primer, which “may not be pretty,” but necessary for the public and eventually the Town Board to put on a final “the top coat.”

Educating the public was a paramount concern, Mr. Milton said. “Can we break down a lot of misunderstanding?” he asked. Especially troubling was people’s lack of information about the aquifer, a natural force that is much more complicated than is generally known, Mr. Milton said, and “put it in language people can understand.”

He mentioned that the committee was entering an important stage with the hiring of hydrogeologist Ben Benvegna. Mr. Benvegna works out of the White Plains office of Connecticut-based Leggette, Brashears & Graham. His work will be crucial to understanding the nature of the aquifer.

When the final report is presented to the board in February, Mr. Milton said “we won’t just drop it in your lap and say goodbye,” but will continue to work with the board as it comes to a decision to keep the ban or lift it.

Board members had no questions for Mr. Milton.

Supervisor Jim Dougherty said he would like to see Mr. Milton, members of his committee and Mr. Benvegna at future work sessions.

“We’d like to be blended into the process,” Mr. Dougherty said.