LIRPC

You are here: Home / Uncategorized /

LINAP

Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan –

February Newsletter

This Month’s Topics:

  • Oakdale Sewer Expansion
  • Over $1.5 Million in Funding for Research Projects in the Long Island Sound and its Watershed
  • Interactive Map Published for Potential Water Reuse Opportunities on Golf Courses

Governor Cuomo Announces $26.4 Million for Sewer Expansion in Oakdale, New York

Governor Cuomo announced that $26.4 million in federal and state funds will be redirected to fund sewer expansion in Oakdale. The project will connect up to 400 homes in Oakdale to an existing sewer system. These homes currently rely on septic systems that are contributing to the nitrogen input to the Great South Bay. This past January, Mastic and Babylon residents approved local referendums for $331 million worth of sewer projects that would cover approximately 6,500 homes. These projects represent Suffolk County’s largest sewer expansion since the 1970s. The County will manage the Oakdale project as well as the Mastic and Babylon projects.The funds will cover both planning and construction expenses.

Over $1.5 Million in Funding for Research Projects in the Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Over $1.5 million in funding has been awarded for four research projects examining ecological issues in the Long Island Sound and its watershed. The projects, supported via a partnership between the Sea Grant programs of New York (NYSG) and Connecticut (CTSG) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Long Island Sound Study (LISS), address topics affecting the ecological health of the Long Island Sound (LIS) including: hypoxia, biological parameters for water quality management and the scope and impact of landscaping practices.

For more information on each of the projects visit the Long Island Sound Study website.

Interactive Map Published for Potential Water Reuse Opportunities on Golf Courses

The LINAP Water Reuse workgroup was established to explore wastewater reuse as a possible means of achieving additional nitrogen removal prior to discharge to groundwater and surface waters on Long Island. One approach being looked at is the potential to use post-treatment wastewater to irrigate golf courses and fertilize turf grass and other plants. Using treated effluent from centralized wastewater treatment facilities to irrigate golf courses has multiple benefits including:

  • reducing the amount of nitrogen pollution entering Long Island’s waterways
  • potentially reducing the amount of nitrogen a golf course uses for fertilization
  • lowering the demand on Long Island’s sole-source aquifer

To promote this potential use, the workgroup developed an interactive map showing the location of golf courses in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, as well as the location of wastewater treatment facilities, both municipal and private. The map enables users to click on features within the application to learn more information about a treatment facility, including its design flow/flow limit and current receiving water. The layers tool on the map allows users to visualize a set range of distances from any wastewater treatment facility to any golf course or other location of interest.

Last year the workgroup also published a Treated Wastewater Reuse Roadmap that takes users (principally municipalities and engineering/consulting firms) through the steps in DEC’s environmental permitting process as it relates to the reuse of treated municipal wastewater. It is intended to be a general guide for the permitting process for water reuse. The document also includes relevant contact information and links to DEC and external webpages.

The Potential Water Reuse Opportunities Interactive Map for Golf Courses and the Treated Wastewater Reuse Roadmap map can be found on the LINAP webpage.