Contestants will be eligible to receive prizes, including a free Family Event aboard the historic Oyster Sloop Priscilla. Additional prizes provided by Long Island Aquarium, Long Island Ducks & Splish Splash

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced April 29 the launch of the 2022 Reclaim Our Water Poster Contest, for fifth grade students in the County, to encourage artistic expression and increase awareness of our most treasured natural resource — water. As a part of Reclaim Our Water (ROW), the County’s over-arching water quality improvement initiative, poster contest entrants are to create original artwork depicting their favorite water-related activities in Suffolk County with family and friends, such as swimming, kayaking, fishing, gardening and more, by May 20.

Contestants are encouraged to use their creativity, making posters that are humorous or serious, as long as they focus on the contest theme and direct viewers to the Reclaim Our Water website, www.ReclaimOurWater.info. Prizes will be awarded for first place, as well as for up to four other finalists. The first place winner will receive a free afternoon with family aboard the historic sailboat, Oyster Sloop Priscilla, of the Long Island Maritime Museum. Additional prizes will be provided by the Long Island Aquarium, the Long Island Ducks and Splish Splash. For more information, including rules, guidelines, and entry forms , please visit www.ReclaimOurWater.info.

“It is so important to involve our students in the work that we are doing now to create a cleaner, safer environment for them and future generations,”  said County Executive Bellone. “Coupling art with environmental awareness does that, in a unique way, to not only achieve our goal of increasing water quality awareness today, but also to pique their interest in protecting water quality for decades to come.”

To stop and reverse nitrogen pollution from cesspools and septic systems, improve water quality and protect natural storm barriers, County Executive Bellone launched the Reclaim Our Water initiative in 2017, which includes connection to sewers in some areas, and the installation of Innovative Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (IAOWTS) where sewers are not a practical or cost-effective solution. A featured aspect of the program includes the provision of up to $30,000 in state and county grants to eligible homeowners for the installation of Innovative and Alternatively nitrogen removal septic systems. As of March 2022, more than 1,030 Suffolk homeowners have utilized the program to install such systems.