The bottom is littered with containers, tires and shopping carts, Mr. Hlinka said at a hearing last month in Port Jefferson. T hroughout the 1990s, Long Island Sound — some 1,320 square miles of shallow estuarine water running between Connecticut and Long Island — was covered from spring to fall with buoys on top and traps on the bottom. Although in some ways the Sound is cleaner than it was 20 years ago, the problems are nevertheless alarming signs of a deteriorating overburdened resource. There is the Long Island Sound and then there is the Long Island Sound Watershed. Along with fertilizer runoff, Long Island has a major problem with aging septic systems. The biggest overall problem impacting the health of Long Island Sound is high levels of nitrogen and other nutrients, which contribute to dead zones, algae blooms, and marsh damage. ''It saddens me to see what the Sound has become,'' said Gregory Hlinka, a recreational fisherman and diver from Selden, L.I. The critics also contend that the complex would be environmentally destructive. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Hypoxia can occur naturally, especially in the summer, when the water is warm and cannot dissolve as much oxygen as in cooler months. "This suggests the Vibrio bacteria may be present in salt or brackish water in or near Long Island Sound, and people should take precautions." L.I. New York state has issued an advisory on consumption of mergansers and some other waterfowl. The Sound today is too warm too often for this cold adapted species. More than 8 million people live in the Long Island Sound watershed and the activities that take place on and along the Sound – boating, fishing, tourism, and swimming – contribute an estimated $5.5 billion per year to the regional economy. The high-rises would be the largest in New Rochelle. Sound Is So Polluted It Faces Long-Term Damage, Scientists Say. There are dozens of groups in New York and Connecticut calling for additional protection for the Sound, and their voices are rising. Long Island Sound is near the top of contaminated waterways. 3 … The sound is a crucial part in maintaining the quality of life on Long Island, so its protection, preservation, and restoration are imperative. Backers of the plan say that its environmental effect would be minimal and that the economic lift to the sagging city would be substantial. Experiments are under way at Stamford and Norwalk, Conn., and the Tallman Island plant in College Point, Queens. The Long Island Sound Task Force, a Connecticut-based group, says the lobster population on its side has increased significantly, and 1983 may … CT DEP, in cooperation with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the federal EPA, has been investigating LIS water quality problems since 1985 through the National Estuary Program's Long Island Sound Study (LISS). Date of experience: June 2019. Despite all that the sound provides, it suffers many of the same problems as most natural features, pollution. The EPA Work Plan report highlights current and planned Management Plan activities. Government researchers are studying how to reduce the nutrients. Western Long Island Sound has the most serious pollution problems. Nutrients feed the growth of vast amounts of algae, which, when they die, sink to the bottom, where they decompose, using up oxygen. Despite all that the sound provides, it suffers many of the same problems as most natural features, pollution. In Audubon-sponsored hearings, hundreds of Connecticut and New York residents spoke of their love for the Sound, wistfully recalling times when fish and shellfish were more abundant and floating garbage was less evident. It has areas of sandy shores, areas with high cliffs, areas of residential homes and seaside towns. western Long Island Sound during the late summer months when eutrophication problems tend to occur. The Sound is important to more than 20 million people who live within 50 miles and generates billions annually for local economies through tourism, fishing and other uses. Lobstermen reported bringing up dead lobsters. Extensive monitoring and modeling of Long Island Sound have identified the excessive discharge of nitrogen from human activities as the primary pollutant causing hypoxia. Five million people live within 15 miles of the coastline, and 15 million in the drainage basin of the Sound. EPA Work Plan. There are also some concerns about contaminant levels in waterfowl tissues. Decisions in the next 18 months may determine the fate of the Sound. Plants emptying into Chesapeake Bay have been removing nutrients since 1983. 70 tons/day of toxic metals and pesticides enter the Sound. Residents have already received a sobering look at what the Sound's future is likely to hold without costly cleanup efforts. Controlling street runoff, which is often a witches' brew of toxic chemicals, heavy metals and oil products, is also under consideration. In the summer of 1987, extremely low oxygen levels were found between the Throgs Neck Bridge and Greenwich, Conn. At Hempstead Harbor, L.I., no oxygen was found near the bottom and little was at the surface. The spring 2020 issue of Sound Update focuses on Long Island Sound Study’s activities in 2018. 'We're tired of studies,' people are saying.''. If the situation remains unaddressed, the hypoxia could spread east, said the Connecticut Environmental Protection Commissioner, Leslie Carothers. The Long Island Sound is an estuary, and is in fact one of the largest in the world. The Long Island Sound provides more then just beautiful scenery, but crucial natural elements that aide both human and animal residents. In recent summers, sections from the Throgs Neck Bridge east to Port Jefferson, L.I., and Bridgeport, Conn., have become a dead sea, with oxygen-starved waters sometimes fatal to shellfish and devoid of fin fish. Aside from issuing warnings for certain fish caught in Block Island Sound, Gardiners Bay, Jamaica Bay, the South Shore and Peconic Bay, there are also guidelines for … The ruling came as part of a decision in a case in which the federal government and the states of New York and Rhode Island had been fighting for control of Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound. Beaches throughout the 600 miles of coastline have been closed for hundreds of days a year, and sewage pollution has wiped out tens of thousands of acres of shellfish beds. Despite some years of slight increases in their numbers, Long Island Sound lobsters have failed to recover from the 1999 die-off, when the warm conditions persisted for more than 60 days. One is the overlapping of hundreds of local, county… The Soundkeeper is your eyes and ears on Long Island Sound. Nitrogen fuels the growth of algae in the … LONG ISLAND SOUND BLUE PLAN THE PROBLEM Long Island Sound (LIS) is the Northeast’s largest estuary and includes some of the Earth’s most productive natural habitats. The waterway is an extraordinary economic and natural resource. Despite longtime knowledge about the hypoxia, ''it never got the attention it deserved'' in the Sound, he said. Long Island Sound is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, lying predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north, and Long Island in New York to the south. Just as people need oxygen to breathe, marine animals need dissolved oxygen to survive. The largest source is storm water runoff and sewer pipes. About half the nutrients are from New York and Connecticut sewage plants, which discharge one billion gallons of waste a day directly into the Sound. Mr. Colvin said major surgery would be required to upgrade water quality in the western Sound, the area nearest New York City. Read more. All Rights Reserved. The plan calls for 2,000 luxury condominiums, many in four 31-story buildings; an 800-slip marina, a helicopter landing area and a 3,465-foot bridge between the mainland and the 78-acre island. Various clean water, habitat restoration, education, and science projects from Connecticut and New York are highlighted. Whatever approaches the study recommends, the cleanup costs will likely cost billions of dollars. The worst, Federal officials said, is hypoxia, or low oxygen levels. They serve as feeding, breeding, and nursery areas for many species that spend most of … Each summer, the bottom waters in the western half of Long Island Sound experience hypoxia, or very low levels of dissolved oxygen. ''There are too many people living too close,'' a lawyer for the Environmental Defense Fund, Timothy B. Searchinger, said. Such a bureau might assure that the cleanups the Sound study recommends were carried out, said the co-author of the legislation, Representative Nita M. Lowey, Democrat of Westchester. The Long Island Sound is a body of water between Connecticut, and Long Island. Zoom Santas are cashing in, Actor David L. Lander, known for role in 'Laverne & Shirley,' dies, Woman fatally shot in Jersey City Friday night, Joe Biden officially secures enough electors to become president, Be Kind: Victor Cruz gives computers to 400 NJ students, Community refrigerators pop up to help feed hungry, is reporting an unusual number of infections, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. But it could be sometime in our lifetime.''. First, I want to express our agreement with your conclusion that the problem of protecting Long Island Sound results from two prime causes. Long Island Sound. Long Island also has a problem with bacteria content. In addition to being our on-the-water watchdog, the Soundkeeper speaks out on behalf of the many marine species that depend on a […] ''It's not. ''We could get a recurrence any summer.''. The western Sound ''may be reaching some kind of tipping point,'' Ms. Carothers said. In Long Island Sound, Gracilaria grew up to 11percent per day with nitrogen official in the Sound study, Kevin Bricke, said. Major changes are contemplated in handling sewage at the 44 plants emptying into the Sound. Before you can effectively protect Long Island Sound from environmental contamination, it is necessary to understand the Long Island Sound Watershed and its strategic role in maintaining the water quality in Long Island Sound.. We are all familiar with Long Island Sound. At the Bronx site, Gracilaria grew over 16 percent per day and accumulated nitrogen up to 6 percent of its dry weight. Long Island Sound is an estuary approximately 110 miles long (east to west) and 21 miles across at its widest point, and covers an area of 1320 square miles with 600 miles of coastline. The last recorded shark attack in Long Island Sound was in 1961, Mr. Sigworth said, and humans likely posed more of a threat to a shark than it did to us. Researchers are convinced that nutrients like nitrogen from sewage plants and storm runoff are worsening the problem. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. These systems simply do not have the capability to remove or filter out nitrogen, which means a massive influx of nitrogen ends up leaching into Long Island Sound to the north of the island and Great South Bay off the southern coast. Six million people flocked to state beaches on the Sound in 1988, and 750,000 recreational anglers fished the waters. The cost for addressing oxygen depletion alone has been estimated at up to $6 billion. Download in the Media Center. Only NYC, Boston, and Los Angels Harbors are worse. ''There seems to be a trend,'' an E.P.A. Opponents say the proposal is out of scale with the surroundings. Cuomo op-ed: Schools offer smart lessons to curb COVID spread, Minister vows to rebuild after fire damages historic East Village church, Restaurant owner vents anger over dining ban in emotional video, COVID Live Updates: U.S. surpasses 280,000 deaths, Demonstrators in NYC protest new agricultural laws in India, 'Parents are desperate.' The issue has been joined in Westchester County, where some residents are fighting a proposed housing complex and marina on Davids Island, off New Rochelle. Many others are speaking out against overdevelopment and the loss of fishing grounds, noting that individual projects with minor effects may have tremendous cumulative consequences. ''There's a great concern for action now,'' the coordinator of the National Audubon Society's Listen to the Sound campaign, Jane-Kerin Moffat, said. '' Atlantic Ocean/Long Island South Shore 2, 3 (Nassau, Queens, Suffolk) Block Island Sound 2, 3 (Suffolk) Gardiners Bay 2, 3 (Nassau, Queens, Suffolk) Jamaica Bay, excluding Paerdegat Basin 2, 3 (Nassau, Kings, Queens) Long Island Sound 2, 3 (Nassau, Westchester, Queens, Suffolk, Bronx) Peconic Bay 2, 3 (Suffolk) Weakfish Progress has been made in reducing nitrogen, especially from wastewater treatment plants—but further reductions are needed! Copyright © 2020 WABC-TV. It is a boating and fishing area with the deep water for sailboats and large yachts. The Long Island Sound now is about 55 degrees, according to weather.com. This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. The central Sound should be improved, and the high quality of the eastern has to be maintained, he added. Five cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections … Mr. Bricke said hypoxia was heads and shoulders above other pollution issues, because it was a Sound-wide problem that no one state or county could resolve. Pollution Problems Concerning the Long Island Sound Essay 2481 Words | 10 Pages "The Long Island Sound is a national treasure, to be prized for its beauty, abundant and diverse resources, and recreational and commercial opportunities" (Long Island Sound Study). One of the main reasons why these things are suffering so is due to the large volumes of pollution that have wound up in the Long Island Sound throughout the years. Long Island Sound is Connecticut’s largest and most important natural resource. Some 200,000 boats are registered around the Sound, and there are 20,000 slips. Commercial and sports fisheries generated as much as $170 million in revenue in 1987. The saga began when an alert homeowner spotted the deer with the orange bucket covering her head by the bluffs. Western Long Island Sound has the most serious pollution problems. The worst, Federal officials said, is hypoxia, or low oxygen levels. HARTFORD, Connecticut (WABC) -- Connecticut health officials are warning of a rise in illnesses stemming from the exposure to bacteria in Long Island Sound. Advertisement. Nitrogen Control Program for Long Island Sound. Looking out to Long Island Sound from the beaches in Sea Cliff, New York. The proposal could be a test case on developing other unpopulated islands. Federal environmental officials and the States of New York and Connecticut are in the fifth year of a six-year study on the oxygen-depleted water and pollution from sewage, toxic substances and floating garbage. See the article in its original context from. There is no better public example of climate change in Long Island Sound than the lobster. After Maine and Massachusetts, the Sound represented the third largest lobster industry in the United States. The waves are literally overflowing with resources and information that not many people know about. The water quality and aquatic life have been facing serious problems in the past years. It quickly focuses on hypoxia after multi-year studies show the severity of the problem. But a host of environmental concerns remain, symptomatic of what many experts consider the fundamental problem. Parts of Long Island Sound are so polluted that it faces severe long-term environmental damage, say scientists, government officials and conservation groups. Learn more about our nitrogen effort. ''Some people have said that Long Island Sound is dead,'' said the New York State Marine and Coastal Resources Director, Gordon Colvin. 1989 When dissolved oxygen falls below a certain level, fish may become ill, die or move to where there is ample oxygen. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Through regular patrols of your bays and harbors, the Soundkeeper focuses on finding, reporting, and fixing our most vexing water quality problems. Bathers and boaters from Mystic, Conn., to Southold on the North Fork of Long Island are reporting growing amounts of floating and beached garbage. But it is being loved to death. Such activity suggests that the Sound has a formidable constituency. Why do we need a TMDL for Long Island Sound? Because PCBs are globally distributed and most fish and forage species migrate widely, it is not clear if the problem observed in Long Island Sound is caused by local sources. Congress is considering legislation to create a Long Island Sound office in the Environmental Protection Agency. With more than 1,100 miles of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, the region must also prepare for the rising sea levels related to climate change and the fact that the East Coast’s landmass is sinking. In the last 20 years, less untreated sewage and industrial chemicals have been dumped in the Sound. Forty percent is from Connecticut rivers that carry treated sewage and storm runoff. The measure is aimed at complaints in New York and Connecticut that no comprehensive cleanup has been undertaken because management of the estuary falls under so many jurisdictions, Mrs. Lowey said. More than half the discharge is from four New York City plants emptying into the East River. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. So many of us cherish the opportunity to swim, boat, fish, and frolic in the waters of Long Island Sound, but there are some key facts that we may be missing out on. 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