Island water testing program deemed a success

It was a very beautiful day and a lot of people were out shopping or going to beaches or other sites, said Sean Davy, describing the weather this past weekend that brought so many to sites where volunteers were sharing information about how to arrange for water testing and why they should be doing it.

“The reception was really very positive,” Mr. Davy said.

The program was launched by the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) and Mr. Davy was the point person in organizing it.

He referred to the effort as “trying to level the playing field” by encouraging more people to get their water tested. Some said they did it when they bought their Island property, some have done more recent testing, and many on the Island will find testing reveals they have no problem.

But for others, knowing means they can take steps to alleviate problems to avoid developing health issues.

Mr. Davy organized the weekend “Know Your Water” event with volunteers manning sites around the Island to share information with residents and visitors about why they should be concerned and why they should take steps to find out what’s in the water on Shelter Island.

Water in many areas is excellent, he said. But with a Town dependent on well water, it’s important to have water tested.

WAC members don’t want to scare people, but they do want to encourage more people to take seriously that there are known contaminants and emerging contaminants as well as the possibility of salt water intrusion in some wells, he added. Knowing their water is clean is reassuring, but if there are issues, they can be alleviated with various treatments, he said.

If a neighbor has had water tested and found issues, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will have problems with your well water. But it’s wise to know, he said.

During the day, he said he heard some interesting information from people. There are property owners interested in getting water tested even if it was done in the past, Mr. Davy said.

There may have been tests done when people purchased their homes, but that could have been several years ago. It doesn’t have to be done every year, but with emerging contaminants, its not wise to figure once, years ago, was sufficient.

There’s growing awareness of so-called forever chemicals that wouldn’t have been detected years ago, but are an issue now.

Such contaminants come from man-made products — makeup, cleaning items, pots and pans coated with teflon, once thought to be safe, that are now known to flake off and enable contaminants to enter the food you’re cooking.

People may have tested for nitrates, iron or magnesium but until recently, not for PFAS and PFOS, the elements from these types of products, Mr. Davy said.

“I hope we woke everybody up,” he said about the Know Your Water effort. “What we’re trying to do is turn the light on in people’s heads.”