The State of Our Bays in 2014

Dr. Christopher J. Gobler presents The State of the Bays, 2014 at Stony Brook Southampton. (A. Hinkle photo)

By Annette Hinkle

Water quality is an issue that has long been on the radar screens of environmentalists and scientists on the East End. But in recent years, even average citizens couldnt fail to notice the degradation of local waterways through an increasing number of algal bloom events.

These events go by names like rust tide or brown tide and over time, have been responsible for the decimation of eel grass beds crucial habitat for scallops and the reduction in numbers of other species of shellfish and finfish as well.

Water quality is a top issue for Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, who wants the East End to become a hub for clean water technology. Recently, she presented Governor Andrew Cuomo with a proposal in which the state, county, SUNY Stony Brook and local environmental groups would ban together to address water degradation on the East End.

To that end, last Friday as part of his talk on the State of the Bays, 2014 at Stony Brook Southampton, Dr. Christopher Gobler of the universitys School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SOMAS) began the evening by announcing that his team of researchers are actively engaged in assessing Long Islands coastal waters. Soon, they will be sharing that information with organizations and municipalities so they can act on it in a meaningful way.

Dr. Gobler is the director of LICCRA (Long Island Coastal Conservation Research Alliance). The alliance is made up of graduate students, post doctorate researchers and lab technicians and their research will give solid numbers to environmental groups, policy makers, elected officials and citizens as they work toward finding real solutions to improve water quality.

We monitor and do research on coastal waters and can share our science, explained Dr. Gobler who added that going forward, water quality updates will be posted regularly on LICCRAs Facebook page. We want to communicate our science to people who can make a difference.

And when it comes to that science, Dr. Gobler reports there is much to be concerned about. Harmful algal blooms, hypoxia (or low oxygen) and general water impairment are all taking their toll on Long Island waterways. Degradation is worse in western Nassau County, where geography makes it difficult for tidal flushing to carry out toxins, but Suffolk County waterways experienced some serious issues in the last couple years as well, especially parts of Great South Bay, Shinnecock Bay and even local ponds.

Nitrogen loading is an issue driving many of these trends, said Dr. Gobler who notes that in 2009, the journal Science saw an overabundance of nitrogen in the environment as a global threat to humanity.

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The State of Our Bays in 2014