Water Project

Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP)- Newsletter

Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP)- Newsletter

Five tips for an Eco-friendly lawn Take the Nitrogen Pledge Grant Insights and Highlights Five Tips for an Eco-friendly Lawn It’s almost spring and lawn care is on the minds of many Long Islanders. Fertilizer is often thought of as a key ingredient to a healthy, vibrant lawn but fertilizer use, especially improper application, can be harmful to the environment. Excess nitrogen in fertilizer pollutes our waterways, negatively impacts aquatic life and interferes with fishing, swimming and boating. In fact, fertilizer is the second leading source of nitrogen contamination of Long Island waters; residential wastewater is the primary source. In this issue of the LINAP newsletter, we review several ways to care for your lawn while protecting coastal waters, as well as our drinking water...

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Information Session about Expanded PFAS Water Survey – Feb 9, 2023

Information Session about Expanded PFAS Water Survey – Feb 9, 2023

On Thursday Feb. 9, 2023 the Orient Association hosted a Zoom Information Session so that the community can learn more about the expanded water testing survey for PFAS contaminants that is being performed by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS).  Jason Hime, the Principal Public Health Engineer of the SCDHS Department of Water Resources offered a short presentation covering the following: What are PFAS contaminants and where do they come from? What are the health effects? What are the regulations on PFAS levels? The Orient Village Survey- scope of water testing and follow up.    View Jason's Presentation SlidesCall the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) Office of Water Resources at 631-852-5810New York State Department of Health has a lot...

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Information Session about the Water Quality Advisory

Information Session about the Water Quality Advisory

On Monday Oct. 17, 2022 the Orient Association hosted a Zoom Information Session so that the community can learn more about PFAS contaminants and the Water Quality survey that is being performed by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS).  Jason Hime, the Principal Public Health Engineer of the SCDHS Department of Water Resources offered a short presentation covering the following: What are PFAS contaminants and where do they come from? What are the health effects? What are the regulations on PFAS levels? The Orient Village Survey- scope of water testing and follow up.    View Jason's Presentation SlidesCall the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) Office of Water Resources at 631-852-5810New York State Department of Health has a lot of...

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State of the Bays 2022

State of the Bays 2022

Every year in April, Dr. Christopher Gobler, Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation and director of the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology, delivers his "State of the Bays" talk. This year, the topic is "Watershed of Destiny," and the the talk is a perfect fit for Earthstock, the week long celebration of Earth Day at Stony Brook University, On Long Island, our sole-source aquifer is our drinking water supply, and the primary source of freshwater, nitrogen, and other contaminants to coastal ecosystems. Recent trends in the quality of both groundwater and surface waters on Long Island have been worrisome. Emerging contaminants such as PFAS and 1,4-dioxane are entering drinking water supplies. Nitrogen levels in groundwater have risen by more than 60% in recent...

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Orient Water Project Update #2

Orient Water Project Update #2

Now that we are a few months into the Orient water project, I wanted to give you an update on our progress.As you know, we started this project with the goal of assessing, now and in the future:
  1. Ground water quantity
  2. Ground water quality
  3. Surface water health
In each case, we wanted to know whether there are steps that should be taken to improve and protect our water resources. 
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Join The Orient Water Project

Join The Orient Water Project

Orient sits atop a single, thin, freshwater aquifer and is surrounded by beautiful, productive bays and estuaries.  Unfortunately, both our groundwater and our surface waters have been degraded over the past half-century, and both face significant threats going forward.

Water is the lifeblood of this community, so the OA believes it is critical to understand and confront these threats.  We are therefore working on developing a comprehensive plan for remediating and protecting the hamlet’s ground and surface waters.  The plan will cover three areas:

  1. Situation assessment
  2. Prioritization of actions to be taken
  3. Activation (identification of funding and responsible party–Suffolk County Government, NYC DEC, EPA, etc.)
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Broad Meadows/Narrow River Restoration and our Changing Shoreline

Broad Meadows/Narrow River Restoration and our Changing Shoreline

A presentation about the future of Broad Meadows in Orient, NY and proposed restoration of the marsh area to the east of Narrow River Road. Elizabeth Hornstein, State Coordinator for the Peconic Estuary Partnership, will share plans to the Orient Community and answer questions about the future of Broad Meadows.

Peconic Estuary Partnership, Town of Southold and Ducks Unlimited presents on the restoration plans for Broad Meadows Marsh located in Orient, NY, immediately south of Route 25 and east of Narrow River Road. The marsh is currently dominated by the invasive plant Phragmites due to restricted tidal flow. Restoration is needed to improve tidal flow to the marsh and promote the re-establishment of native marsh vegetation. The proposed restoration work will result in improved habitat for wildlife and increase resiliency to rising seas.

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Happening Now

Forum on Coastal Resilience and Sea Level Rise

Forum on Coastal Resilience and Sea Level Rise

The Orient Association hosted a forum on Coastal Resilience and Sea-Level Rise. The guest speaker was Elizabeth Hornstein.Elizabeth is a Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional with New York Sea Grant. She is supporting Suffolk County communities within the Long Island Sound watershed with sustainability and resilience planning and implementation of projects. The goal of this work is to help communities anticipate and overcome disturbances caused by a changing climate. Elizabeth will discuss sea level rise and environmental threats affecting Orient, as well as opportunities to increase resilience.
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Future of the Greenport Movie Theater

Future of the Greenport Movie Theater

The Greenport Movie Theater has been owned by Josh Sapan for the past 18 years. Josh has announced that he would like it to transition to a new owner. He's put it on the market for $5.5M. Most likely for it to become a hotel. However, Josh has also indicated that he is willing to gift the building to a 501c3 which, if formed, would sustain an ongoing movie theater, community arts center, and events space there.
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