Water Advisory Committee plans spring ‘Water Testing Weekend’

The Water Advisory Committee (WAC) wants to encourage more residents to get their water tested.

“We tend to think small,” member Sean Davy told his colleagues about efforts to get more of the community alerted to the need for determining the extent and nature of water quality on the Island.

Speaking at the Nov. 17 meeting of the WAC, Mr. Davy said members “need to be in people’s faces” with concerns if they are consuming water that can be detrimental to their health. His words were quickly embraced by his WAC colleagues who agreed with the development of a program to encourage more residents to get their water tested and, if results indicate it is contaminated with dangerous elements, to seek remediation.

WAC members have been active in promoting testing and working to get tests funded, but even when money is forthcoming from the Water Quality Improvement Advisory Board to cover costs, too few have been signing up to participate in the programs.

Details of how to promote more testing are still sketchy, but one effort is expected to schedule a “Water Testing Weekend” next spring. There, vials and test strips could be provided to residents to do some simple testing of their own with the hope that some might take a next step to get more sophisticated tests undertaken by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.

“I feel excited” by the proposal for a Water Testing Weekend event, said member Peter Grand, previous chairman of the WAC.

Mr. Davy will provide his colleagues with an outline for the weekend’s program that could involve handing out test materials outside the IGA and speaking to property owners about information to guide the steps they can take to get water tested and resources for dealing with any problems the test results might reveal.

Pharmaceuticals

With the cessation of pharmacy services on the Island, those who need to dispose of prescription medications that are either expired or no longer being taken can bring them to Police Headquarters. But some prefer not to use that method of disposal and need guidance for disposing of them appropriately, Mr. Grand said. 

What he doesn’t want, he added, is people flushing the medications down the toilet where they can make their way into wells and the aquifer and negatively affect water quality.

Those whose prescriptions are now being delivered by a driver from Sag Harbor Pharmacy can give their expired or no longer needed medications to the driver so the pharmacy can handle proper disposal, Mr. Grand said.

Irrigation

Prior to the Town Board’s reorganization of the Water Advisory Committee, Lisa Shaw organized a subcommittee to deal with the overuse of fertilizers irrigating lawns and plantings. She led the way to creating a brochure as a tool in educating the public.

The reorganized committee isn’t letting go of the hard work that went into Ms. Shaw’s efforts. Mr. Davy is picking up the issue and organizing sessions with landscapers and contractors to develop ways to develop terms that will discourage practices that endanger water quality, while not creating policies that interfere with their businesses.

Drought threat diminished

With the end of the government shutdown, the Town has begun getting data on well levels and drought threats. The threat of a drought on the Island has diminished and is no longer classified as “moderate.” Instead, it is now classified as “abnormally dry.” Accordingly, WAC members have no reason to change actions, but recommend the Town continue to advise voluntary water