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Environment & Nature

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Photo from Town of Smithtown
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Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown
Photo from Town of Smithtown

The Town of Smithtown saw heavy rains and flash flooding last night, enduring approximately ten inches in total, as the storm regenerated across Suffolk County throughout the night and early morning. The Town of Smithtown has compiled a detailed assessment of damage, flooding, and areas of concern in addition to providing important information regarding storm cleanup, and contact information for those in need of further assistance.

“We were fortunate in comparison to surrounding areas, much in part due to proactive measures and recent upgrades made to infrastructure, elevated roadways, and state-of-the-art engineering at Smithtown’s most vulnerable areas. I want to commend our crews working throughout the night. Public Safety, Parks, and Highway teams have been working around the clock to clear, assess and repair the damage, in the wake of the storm, which was unpredicted by meteorologists. I also want to commend our volunteer Fire Departments, FRES, our Office of Emergency Management, and Fire Marshals who were out in these dangerous conditions overnight, performing water rescues, extracting stranded drivers, responding to emergency calls and assisting our neighbors in Stony Brook,” said Smithtown Town Supervisor Ed Wehrheim.

“Public Safety even used their Drone to assist the Smithtown Fire Department boat to rescue two individuals who were stranded from a home. The level of communication, bravery and teamwork over these past 24 hours has been extraordinary. I would also like to commend our County Executive, Ed Romaine for leaping into action immediately to declare a State of Emergency for the area. Finally, I’d recommend that everyone access the Town of Smithtown Mobile App for notifications regarding road detours, areas to avoid and updates on the storm cleanup. We will not stop until flooding concerns have been addressed, the roads are clear, and our residents can safely resume daily routines,” added Supervisor Wehrheim.

Town Damage Assessment:

The headwaters of the Nissequogue have crested at Paul T. Given Park. Councilman Tom Lohmann, Superintendent Robert Murphy and our emergency response teams are currently on scene together with Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services (FRES) and our Planning Department to alleviate water conditions, in hopes of preventing the river from cresting over NYS Route 25a. The basement of the building next to the park (formerly the Oasis) has flooded up to the first floor. Smithtown’s Parks Department is currently on scene and is going to remove accumulated debris under the culdesac to alleviate rising waters. This will also allow the MTA to get into their property to inspect the train trestle. Currently, train service is suspended between Port Jefferson and Kings Park in both directions due to flooding from the Nissequogue River west of Smithtown.

Maple Avenue at Millers Pond (Wildwood Ln to Darling Ave) is closed due to overflow conditions. The Smithtown Highway Department, alongwith Deputy Superintendent Jim Duetch are currently on scene with Suffolk County Parks to mitigate flooding and ensure the culvert remains stable.  Both of these areas (Paul T Given Park & Millers Pond) are of critical importance to address as more rainfall is predicted for this afternoon.

The Smithtown Parks Department has been operating the cleanup at Town Hall, which took in close to four feet of water in the basement and is currently operating on backup power. The Parks Department building in Kings Park sustained flooding damage to the shop area and vehicles were badly flooded.

As of this morning, we’ve estimated approximately 50 town trees (in the town right of way) were either uprooted or down. Highway crews are currently working to remove these trees from the roadways.

Parks & Beaches:

Landing Country & Golf Club sustained washouts and drainage issues in addition to damage on the 9th hole of the course. Parks crews have been dispatched and are currently working on repairs.

Boaters with vessels in slips and the town mooring fields should ensure that lines are secured. There have been a few instances where boats have come loose.

The bathroom area at Whitman Hollow sustained some flooding issues. Parks Crews have already been dispatched to handle cleanup.

Callahan’s Beach only sustained a few down trees as of this morning. The incredible state of the art engineering of the rebuild had its first real test and aced with flying colors.

The elevation of Long Beach Road also handled extreme rain without incident. No flooding was reported.

LIRR Train Service: LIRR Train service is suspended from Port Jefferson to Kings Park until further notice.

ROAD CLOSURES/DETOURS: 

  • Maple Ave is closed due to road flooding from Wildwood Ln to Darling Ave. Use an alternative route.
  • North Country Road from Mills Pond road all the way up north, is closed and impassable due to flooding. Use an alternative route.
  • West Main St Smithtown from Maple Ave to Edgewood Ave Closed due to Flooding. Use an alternate Route.

Residents can stay informed about the storm and get up to the minute updates via the Town of Smithtown Mobile App, which is free to download on Google Play and the App Store.

Safety Reminders: Do not attempt to drive over a flooded road. Turn around and go another way. DID YOU KNOW? Six inches of fast moving flood water can knock you off your feet. A depth of two feet of water will float your car. Never try to walk, swim or drive through such swift water.

Keep children from playing in floodwaters or near culverts and storm drains.

Resident Safety Post Storm:

Residents should attempt to keep all brush, tree branches and storm debris clear from blocking fire hydrants and storm drains.

Public Safety and Smithtown Fire Marshals would like to remind residents using generators to take a moment to confirm that the exhaust is facing outwards and at least 20’ away from a building, to prevent CO poisoning and fires caused by incorrectly positioned generators.

Highway crews are working with PSEG to clear the roads of any remaining trees safely, and have begun hauling debris/brush today. The Highway Department led by Superintendent Robert Murphy, has cleanup crews assigned to every hamlet.

NOTE: Fallen trees can hide downed cables or entangled power lines, even if the power is out.

Power: 

As of this morning, there are less than 20 homes within the township who are without power.

To report and receive status updates on an outage Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454) or to report an outage online visitwww.psegliny.com

To register, have your account number available and text REG to PSEGLI (773454)

Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything contacting the wire. To report a downed wire, call PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: 1-800-490-0075

Stranded Vehicles: If there is an emergency, please dial 9-11 immediately. All non life-threatening calls can be directed to the Department of Public Safety by calling (631) 360-7553

Report Gas Outages or Emergencies: If you smell gas anywhere, including in your home, go outside and call National Grid 24 hour hotline at 1-800-490-0045 or dial 911 immediately.

LIRR Commuter Travel Information: For information regarding delays or travel questions, contact the LIRR 24 hour travel information center at 718-217-5477

Local Fire & Police Phone Numbers: In an emergency dial 9-1-1

  • Suffolk County Police Department: For non-emergencies, contact 631-852-COPS (2677). Dial 9-1-1 ONLY for life-threatening emergencies.
  • Smithtown Fire Rescue Communications: 631-265-1500 for fire and EMS emergencies in the Smithtown, Kings Park, and Hauppauge Fire Districts.
  • Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services: Dial 911 for fire and EMS emergencies in the St. James, Nesconset, and Nissequogue Fire Districts.
  • Commack Fire Department: 631-499-5777 for fire emergencies in the Commack Fire District.

To Report Flooding or Road Concerns: To report flooding, drainage issues, and other storm related conditions along the roads, please contact the Highway Department at (631) 360-7500. NOTE: Flooding in basements are the

Downed Street Trees: Trees within the town’s right of way (alongside a town road) are in general the responsibility of the Highway Department. Residents with down trees on property lines can call the Department of Environment and Waterways (DEW) at (631) 360-7514 to inspect the tree and determine the best course of action. Trees that are not in the town’s right of way are the responsibility of the resident.

Elderly Neighbors & Special Needs individuals: Always check on your neighbors living with disabilities, special needs or senior citizens. Make sure they have an emergency phone, plenty of water, food and blankets. Ask if they have someone to call in the event of an emergency. If further intervention is required please contact the Senior Citizens Department at (631) 360-7616 or the Office for People with Disabilities at (631) 360-7642

Wildlife Rescue & Lost Pets:

Smithtown Animal Control Officers are ready to respond to calls for wildlife in distress or to report lost pets. Animals in distress, strays or other loose domestic or wild animals can be reported to the Smithtown Animal Shelter and Animal Control at (631) 360-7575

Suffolk 311: Suffolk County 311 is a central call center available to residents who do not know which number to call for any non-emergency. Residents can reach the 311 line Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or leave messages after hours.

Damage Self-Reporting Tool: Homes & Businesses: In collaboration with affected counties, New York State has developed an online form allowing residents to self-report damages to their homes and/or businesses. The purpose of this form is solely to collect information that may help State and local officials identify supplemental damages to develop and augment potential requests for available federal assistance programs. NOTE: Reporting damage is a voluntary activity and is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agency, nor does it guarantee disaster relief assistance. (Do not use this form to report immediate, life-threatening needs. Call 911)

LINK TO FORM:  Smithtownny.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2879

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Stock photo

By Nancy Marr

Many of us are concerned, and puzzled, about the effect of climate change on our weather. Why is it happening and what can we do about it? Greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing as our countries use more power. They blanket the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat in the atmosphere. This leads to changing weather patterns and disruption of the usual balance of nature, posing many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth. Fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — are by far the largest contributors to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2019, New York State passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, based on projections by NYSERDA (New York State Climate Impacts Assessment: Understanding and Preparing for our Changing Climate.) The act presents the state with a strategy for taking action, reducing our carbon footprint, making our communities more resilient, and creating the opportunity for citizens and communities to partner with businesses, schools and government to create a green economy. The goal for New York for 2030 is a reduction of 40% from 1990 levels by 2030 and a reduction of 85% by 2050. 

Led by the Climate Action Council, New York State agencies are required to follow the mandates of the Climate Act (CLCPA). The Council will focus on specific sectors —energy efficiency and building electrification, clean transportation, transmission to support offshore wind injections to the electric power system, and renewable energy technologies. It can provide funding and technical assistance to implement energy and transmission programs that reduce greenhouse gas use, grant-funding to support community-based organizations to develop local land-use plans to guide development to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and achieve a just transition. 

Support for Smart Growth planning can accelerate mixed-use, mixed-income Transit Oriented Developments around key transit hubs served by rail and bus rapid transit.

An analysis released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021 showed that the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities which are least able to prepare for and recover from heatwaves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts. Racial and ethnic minority communities are particularly vulnerable to the greatest impacts of climate change. 

The  Climate Act requires that disadvantaged communities be identified by the Climate Justice Working Group based on geographic, public health, environmental hazard, and socioeconomic criteria. Thirty-five percent of funding should be used to target efforts in disadvantaged and underserved areas.   

Investment in the Climate Change plans will show benefits in addition to the reduction of global warming; in public health, decarbonization can result in improvements in ambient air quality, energy efficiency and weatherization programs in low and moderate homes. Energy efficient and end-use electrification through heat pumps and electric vehicles and funding for school districts to purchase electric buses and their charging stations will be available. Protection of New York’s forests and planting of new trees for large-scale carbon sequestration may be recommended to reduce the emissions.  

The Climate Act is directed to our state’s efforts to replace fossil fuel use with renewable energy. It also considers ways to moderate some of the inequities between the communities that we live in. Our participation as community residents can support the efforts of the state, particularly in the area of waste, which is an important source of methane when collected in landfills or open fields. 

Recycling can re-use some of the waste, but only residents can reduce the amount that they discard by finding ways to reduce how much they acquire. We have a choice about the vehicles we drive, often choosing larger vehicles than we need, and we make choices about how to travel, electing air travel rather than trains. Planning for walkability in our communities would reduce the fumes of gasoline and encourage walking and bicycling. We can influence community planning decisions; do we always think about how our ideas support actions that protect rather than damage our communities?

Nancy Marr is first vice-president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County. 

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File photo by Rita J. Egan

New York Marine Rescue Center seeks volunteers to join them for a beach cleanup at Cedar Beach, 223 Harbor Road, Mt. Sinai on Sunday, Aug. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m.; and at Crab Meadow Beach, 90 Waterview St., Fort Salonga on Sunday, Aug. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. Come join them in their effort to eradicate marine debris from our local beaches and help save our wildlife! To sign up, visit nymarinerescue.org.

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Horseshoe crabs at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai. Photo by John Turner

By John L. Turner

John Turner

Spending the first five years of my life in Flushing situated in central Queens, I knew nothing of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus). My first encounter, after moving to Smithtown, was at the age of six during a visit to Cordwood Beach at the southern edge of Stony Brook Harbor. As I waded in the water these strange domed creatures were around us, moving slowly in the sand, animals so otherworldly different in appearance than any other thing I had seen in my young life.  

I don’t know when he learned this but my friend Tommy, a several year veteran of the beach scene, yelled loudly to watch out for their tails because they sting and I’d get hurt! Unfortunately, Tommy was perpetuating a false and unfortunate myth, one that has caused far too many crabs to be hurt and killed, as this remarkable and novel species is utterly harmless. In reality, as the passing decades have illustrated all too well, horseshoe crabs have considerably more reason to fear humans than we do them.    

This fear is borne out by numbers, numbers as alarming as they are staggering. Over the past quarter century more than four million horseshoe crabs have been killed in New York alone for use as bait in the American eel and whelk fisheries. As of now, the NYSDEC allows for 150,000 crabs to be “harvested” annually, as it has for each year of the past decade,  although to the agency’s credit, they could allow more than twice that amount based on the annual allotment of the 13-state Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) which sets crab quotas for the thirteen east coast states that are members of the Commission. 

This will change if Governor Kathy Hochul signs into law a bill (Assembly bill 10140/Senate bill 3185-A) the New York State legislature passed earlier this year which bans commercial crab harvest. It also bans the harvest of crabs for medical reasons but more about that later. 

Horseshoe crabs, which are not crabs at all but most closely related to scorpions and spiders, are often referred to as living fossils due to how far back they appear in the fossil record. Crabs reminiscent of the four existing species date back 450 million years ago to the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era and, remarkably, horseshoe crab fossils from the Mesozoic Era some 245 million years ago appear almost identical to modern-day species, a span many hundreds of times longer than humans have been on Earth. Now that’s an effective body design! 

Talking about the crab’s body, it consists of three basic parts: the horseshoe-shaped main body known as the prosoma to which is hinged a middle section, this part distinctive as each side contains half a dozen backward pointing spines. The middle is connected to the crab’s tail or telson, reportedly used by native Americans and early colonists as spear tips used for impaling eels and other fish. The telson is not used for stinging or stabbing (the horseshoe crab can’t do these things) but is used to right a crab overturned in a strong shoreline surf typically during mating. 

 If you turn a horseshoe crab upside down, cradling its prosoma in your hand, you’ll see other key body parts protected by the shell. Immediately jumping into view are the six pairs of legs, probably moving around wildly as you hold the animal in a position it finds disturbing. 

The first two smaller leg pairs are used to place food in the crab’s mouth which is situated in the middle of the legs, surrounded by them, and the other five pairs are used to help the crab walk, especially the legs closest to the tail. The first of these five pairs of legs, the ones next to the legs used for feeding, are different between males and females and are diagnostic in determining sex. With males, the ends of these legs contain claspers which look like tiny boxing gloves, making them distinctive from the other legs the male crab has; in females these legs look the same as all the others. Males use these claspers, well, to clasp the shell edge of the female with whom he is mating.   

Between the legs and the tail are the animal’s gills. Known as book gills because the gills are laid out like the pages in a book, the 150-200 “pages” per each of the five gills provide an amazing surface area the crab uses to absorb dissolved oxygen from the water — about 30 square feet of surface area! This is a major reason why crabs can survive in areas with lower oxygen levels. The crab also uses the gills to move through the water as it fans the gill covers synchronously.

Another distinctive aspect of horseshoe crab are their eyes — all ten of them! The two lateral eyes on each side of the body are, by far, the most noticeable and were closely studied for several decades, helping scientists to learn some basic aspects of animal vision. These are compound eyes with each one containing up to one thousand photoreceptors; these photoreceptors allow for the crab to see to each side, up and down, and forward and backward. They are about 100 times as large as the photoreceptors — rods and cones — situated in our eyes.    

And internally, there’s some pretty fascinating stuff going on. Take their blood. We humans bleed red, having blood that is iron based. Not so with horseshoe crabs. Their blood is turquoise colored because it is copper based. It is also extremely sensitive to bacterial endotoxins with the blood clotting in their presence. This clotting agent, known as Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), is used on materials and medicines placed or injected in the human body such as vaccines or the fabricated joints used in knee and hip replacements to make sure they’re bacteria free.  If you’ve had an operation you can thank horseshoe crabs for ensuring your safety!

 Unfortunately, there is a downside to LAL — it is collected by bleeding horseshoe crabs via a needle inserted at the base of the tail — and approximately 15% die in the process and all survivors released back into the water are compromised at least temporarily. The good news is a synthetically manufactured alternative to LAL known as rFC has been developed which harms no crabs. rFC is widely used in Europe and is very likely to be approved for use in the United States later this summer, as well as in Asian countries.             

If you spend time along the shore you’ve probably seen the shells of horseshoe crabs. If they’re dark brown (and stinky!) you’ve come across a deceased crab. You might also find crabs that are tan-colored. These aren’t dead crabs but rather the “unstinky” molts of crabs that were very much alive when they shed their outgrown exoskeleton. If you pick up one of these fragile structures and pinch the sides you might see a crack along the edge of the shell where the top and bottom meet. It is through this seam from which the molting crab emerges, casting off its old skin, so to speak. Horseshoe crabs molt as many as eighteen times during their 25-year lives (assuming they’re not caught for bait) as they grow from tiny crabs to dinner-plate size animals.     

Drawn by the full (especially) and new moons in May and June, (actually the attraction is the higher than usual tides caused by these moons rather than the moon phases themselves) horseshoe crabs come to the water’s edge to spawn. You might find several smaller males swarming around a large female with one male attached by the aforementioned claspers. She lays the eggs in the well oxygenated sand at the interface of land and water. A healthy large female can lay upwards of 90,000 tiny green colored eggs per season. These eggs are vital food for a number of other animals.  At least one dozen species of shorebirds feed upon these tiny but protein rich little packets, including Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and  the federally threatened Red Knot. Many fish eat them too such as bluefish and weakfish. Loggerhead turtles, a federally endangered species, prey on the adults.        

We have a complex and ever evolving relationship with horseshoe crabs. We’ve harvested them by the truckload to be cut up into quarter pieces for bait, yet we spend time walking beaches to return stranded crabs to the water or flip right-side up crabs on their back in order to save their lives. We have ground them up for fertilizer but also lead moonlit “horseshoe crab appreciation” hikes highlighting their fascinating life histories. 

We still retain unfounded fears they sting, stab, or bite but delight in watching them during their annual mating rituals as they spawn billions of eggs, some of which provide sustenance to shorebirds traveling between hemispheres. But with the advancement of rFC and its promise to eliminate crab mortality from bleeding and the legislation to stop the commercial harvest awaiting the Governor’s action, we have a chance to write a new, much more positive chapter in the horseshoe crab-human relationship, one that no longer views crabs as only a commodity to be used and abused. 

A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.

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A Column Promoting a More Earth-Friendly Lifestyle

By John L. Turner

John Turner

As mentioned in the May 2023 “Living Lightly” column, leaving grass clippings on your lawn is a great way to help a lawn and save you work and a little bit of money.  Research has demonstrated that grass clippings are high in nitrogen — an essential element your lawn needs — and by leaving clippings you’ve accounted for about 25% of your lawn’s annual nitrogen needs, meaning you can buy and apply less fertilizer. 

Clippings can also help your lawn retain moisture, resulting in less water use. It also means you don’t have to go through the laborious process of emptying the contents of the mower bag into refuse bags and lugging the bags to the curb.

And it should be noted that as the Brookhaven Town landfill nears closure, it’s a great idea for each of us to generate less garbage needing to be disposed of as we are the ones, through our tax bills, who will pay for increased garbage disposal costs resulting from the landfill’s closure. So as many lawn care professionals urge: “Cut it high and let it lie.

A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.

 

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West Meadow Beach. Photo by Beth Squire

Stony Brook University researchers are conducting a pilot program aimed at facilitating equitable public access to the Long Island Sound waterfront. Professor Anil Yazici, Undergraduate Director, Department of Civil Engineering; and Professor Elizabeth Hewitt, Department of Technology and Society, received a grant from the nonprofit New York Sea Grant (NYSG) program, which is being used to provide participants no-cost, round trip shuttle service between their selected pick-up location and West Meadow Beach.

The free shuttles run every weekend of summer 2024 and can be requested by downloading a free app, which is available in both English and Spanish. As part of the  project, rideshare participants will be asked to complete a survey to identify changes in attitudes toward the Long Island Sound environment.

The objectives of the project being conducted are:

  • To provide beach access to disadvantaged communities with limited mobility options
  • To determine if participants have an increased appreciation toward the Long Island Sound waterfront
  • To gauge if improved public beach access increases awareness of the environmental issues and climate change concerns for Long Island Sound and how the public sees its role within the overall ecosystem
  • To use ridership trends to assess long-term feasibility of the shuttle, such as future shuttle schedules, travel routes, the popularity of different beaches, and how much users are willing to pay for a transportation service

“Long Island is car-dependent, which can be a real barrier to accessing local amenities for some community members. We’re excited to provide a free shuttle to expand mobility options and Long Island Sound beach access to underserved populations this summer,” said Professor Elizabeth Hewitt, Department of Technology and Society.

“Having access to natural resources has been shown to improve health and quality of life, yet especially disadvantaged populations face transportation related barriers to utilize the natural resources. Our project addresses both transportation and environmental equity concerns by providing a transportation service for people who do not own a car or means to access Long Island Sound beaches. We welcome all Long Island communities to utilize our shuttle with their families,” said Professor Anil Yazici, Undergraduate Director, Department of Civil Engineering.

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About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university — is going far beyond the expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With nearly 26,000 students, more than 2,900 faculty members, more than 200,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #58 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America.

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Satellite image of the phytoplankton bloom. Photo courtesy NOAA

By Aidan Johnson

From a young age, children are taught that the ocean isn’t actually blue but is simply reflecting the color of the sky. However, the ocean recently took on a turquoise color not caused by the sky but by organisms called phytoplankton in the water.

Phytoplankton are tiny, commonly single-celled photosynthetic organisms in bodies of water that are carried by tides and currents and are too weak to swim against them.

Along the South Shore, all the way from Montauk to Brooklyn and spanning about 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, there is an algal bloom full of a specific type of phytoplankton called coccolithophores, explained Christopher Gobler, a professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University.

According to Gobler, this particular type of phytoplankton has a shell that’s made of calcium carbonate, which is the same substance that clam shells are made of, albeit to a much larger degree.

“What can happen is that after [the coccolithophores have] grown for a while, the shell begins to dissolve and then they might start dying off,” he said in an interview. “And so the coloration seems to be from the dissolution of that shell. It looks green, but it’s really just the interaction of the calcium carbonate with the seawater and the sunlight that collectively leads to that color.”

Gobler also clarified that the coccolithophores do not pose a direct health risk to sea life, but instead “fuel the food chain.”

“And so for the present time at least … we can call it a neutral deposit,” he said.

The bloom already seems to be dissipating, according to Gobler, which means that the sky will once again take credit for the water’s blue appearance.

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From left, James Loglisci, Suffolk County Department of Health Services; Mark Long, Suffolk County Department of Health Services; Supervisor Dan Panico; Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich and Deputy Suffolk County Health Commissioner, Anthony Figliola. Photo courtesy of TOB
From left, Brookhaven Suffolk County Health Commissioner Anthony Figliola, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico and Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich. Photo courtesy of TOB

On July 30, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico and Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich  joined Deputy Suffolk County Health Commissioner, Anthony Figliola  and James Loglisci and Mark Long from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services at Brookhaven Town’s Port Jefferson Marina to review and learn about the Suffolk County Marine Water Quality Monitoring program.

The Suffolk County Office of Ecology routinely monitors the quality of marine surface waters throughout Suffolk County as part of various environmental and management programs. These activities were initiated in 1976 under the “208 Study” (Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972), a comprehensive water quality management program calling for the development of a plan to meet established water quality goals.

“Suffolk County’s Marine Monitoring Program is as interesting as it is impressive. Far more is known now than decades ago about the health of our waters and the sources of degradation. While there is a great deal of work to be done, the continual measuring to obtain metrics of the conditions is essential to understanding and improving our water quality. Port Jefferson and Setauket Harbors are two beautiful and treasured features of Brookhaven Town, and we appreciate the partnership with Suffolk County,” said Supervisor Panico.

“Thank you to Anthony Figliola and the Suffolk County Health Department for continuing to keep a close eye on the waters of Port Jefferson and Setauket. Today, Supervisor Panico and I joined the County’s team to test various sites in and around the harbor complex. They are out on the water all year round, in all weather, taking samples and testing to make sure contaminants and algae are being monitored at all times. Thank you to these hard-working men for your role in protecting public health and our maritime environment!” added Councilmember Kornreich.

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