US Geological Survey proposes chloride test wells for Shelter Island

Hope is on the horizon for test wells to assess what neighbors in two communities have insisted is interfering with the potability of their well water.

Neighbors in Silver Beach and the Menantic Peninsula have been asking the Town to bear the costs of assessing the extent of salt water intrusion, with Town Engineer Joe Finora exploring solutions. Following his outreach to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which tracks test wells to determine levels of potable water, he spoke to officials and told the Town Board Tuesday there is a proposal for an agreement forthcoming within about two weeks. The USGS proposes to locate two test wells on the Island that can never be converted to provide water, but would be located at high and low points to monitor salt water intrusion at both levels.

The low level well would be located in the Wades Beach area near the parking lot entrance and the high level well would be drilled in the Center, likely in Sachem’s Woods in an area accessible from Route 114.

A brief agreement, likely to be about two pages long, would be sent to Town officials.

But what Mr. Finora requested from the Town Board Tuesday was an indication that members want to move forward, since he needed to get a response back to the USGS as quickly as possible.

The USGS has a short window to examine the sites and determine they would be effective as part of a grant-funded, long-term partnership.

Because Shelter Island is one of several municipalities to participate in the study, the commitment to have the wells drilled and monitored would have to be open-ended, and could last for decades.

Councilman Albert Dickson, arguably one of the most knowledgeable officials when it comes to water issues, called it “a benefit to us” to participate.

While the initial use of the two test wells is to track chlorides, they could at some point be used to test for contaminants. But they could never be converted to supply water, he reiterated.