Suffolk looking at new septic technologies

Nitrogen pollution from the septic systems that serve 70 percent of Suffolk homes can foul drinking water and seriously damage aquatic life in troubled waterways such as Brookhaven's Forge River.

It's a particular problem in older neighborhoods, where aging cesspools on postage-stamp lots that predate the county's 1980 sanitary code send nitrogen surging into groundwater - and eventually to local streams and bays.

But new septic technologies that provide a higher level of treatment can dramatically reduce nitrogen discharges, according to experts at a wastewater forum yesterday in Hauppauge.

These advanced systems have yet to gain a foothold on Long Island, although they are now used upstate and in environmentally sensitive parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.

"Folks, New Jersey is beating us when it comes to using proven technologies," said Islip Town Councilwoman Trish Bergin Weichbrodt, who planned the event with environmental advocate Kevin McAllister of Peconic Baykeeper and Suffolk Legis. Edward P. Romaine. Weichbrodt and Romaine are both Republicans.

Organizers said Suffolk needs to embrace the new technologies and update its sanitary code. They called for stricter limits on nitrogen to better protect vulnerable waters, such as the Great South Bay, which, along with several neighboring bays, recently landed on a state list of impaired waters because of nitrogen pollution.

They also encouraged municipalities to take matters into their own hands by designating certain properties as "nitrogen sensitive" or setting up wastewater treatment districts to help homeowners finance and install high-tech septic systems.

About 80 regulators, scientists, planners and environmental and civic advocates attended the forum. Notably absent were representatives from the Suffolk Department of Health Services, which has commissioned a study on new septic technologies but has moved slowly to amend existing regulations.

"I am disappointed that the board of health is not here," Romaine said.

He and McAllister have pressed the county to revise the sanitary code to make it more protective. The state drinking water standard for nitrogen is 10 milligrams per liter.

McAllister said that level of nitrogen can trigger fish kills and contribute to algae blooms and other environmental damage.

Walter Dawydiak, the health department's chief engineer, defended the county's track record on nitrogen in an e-mail last night. He said the systems discussed at the forum did not meet county design standards and the health department had yet to see data demonstrating their effectiveness.

Consultants preparing the county study of alternative septic systems are reviewing results from their use in New Jersey and other jurisdictions; the final report is expected by December, Dawydiak said.