A delegation from the Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association (NSWCA) recently presented testimony at a Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection (LICAP) public information hearing. The purpose of the hearing was to co
llect public input on protecting Long Island’s sole source aquifer and the LICAP’s draft State of the Aquifer report. Leading NSWCA’s delegation were Massapequa Water District Commissioner Thomas P. Hand, Hicksville Water District Commissioner Karl M. Schweitzer, and Westbury Water and Fire Districts Commissioner Vincent Abbatiello.
During testimony, commissioner Schweitzer commented that the pre-eminent concern should be the clean-up of toxic plumes, which he said “has dragged on for decades to the disadvantage of local suppliers who are all too often left to cope with circumstances that they did not create. The stakes are of the highest order. There is no margin for error and no excuse for prolonging an intolerable situation.”
Commissioner Schweitzer further stated, “The NSWCA is opposed to increasing bureaucracy and the formation of any aquifer management agency or water compact. As suggested, creating yet another agency, management board or water compact merely further crowds an already overcrowded field, and makes effective action more difficult to achieve.”
“The sources of the toxic plumes are well known,” added Hand, saying that a core principle of the NSWCA mission is to provide a sustainable resource and to ensure the protection and efficient management of the island’s groundwater supply. “LICAP must give toxic plumes the highest priority.”
Commissioner Abbatiello addressed that the NSWCA delegation made additional recommendations for combatting nitrates, saltwater intrusion and conducting a professional review of regulations to keep road salt out of shallow wells.
In commenting on the LICAP testimony, NSWCA President and Massapequa Water Commissioner Raymond Averna noted that there is a great effort underway to understand, appreciate and manage the aquifer system.
“For sustainability, NSWCA believes that professional action that stems from a plan based on scientific fact is the key to a non-political solution for all the communities that constitute Nassau and Suffolk counties,” he said.
—Submitted by the Massapequa Water District
