Vote Yes for Clean Water!
ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY NOV 5
VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 2
Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act Protect Clean Water
The Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act would expand sewers and provide tax-free grants to homeowners to replace polluting septic systems with clean water technology.
Make Upgrades Affordable
The Act would make wastewater infrastructure affordable to residents and businesses. If approved by voters, the Act would create a fund, financed by an 1/8 of a penny increase to the county sales tax.
Improve Suffolk County
The funding could only be used to improve water quality in Suffolk County. This funding would unlock a major opportunity to qualify for federal and state funding available for local clean water projects.
Create Good Jobs
The Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act would create thousands of good jobs, revitalize business districts, increase property values, and restore our local bays and harbors.
VOTE YES ON PROPOSOTION 3
Clean Southampton’s polluted water bodies, including the ocean, and preserve more open land for public parks!
The Village of Southampton has received $10 million in grants for a water filtration system for Lake Agawam. This quiet and odorless system will clean three million gallons of polluted Lake Agawam water every day.
Proposition 3 is asking Southampton Town Residents whether this fully funded filtration system can be placed temporarily close to Lake Agawam on less than one acre of Doscher Park behind the Jobs Lane parking lot.
In exchange, the Town will acquire 4.8 acres of new parkland along Lake Agawam.
Making the Lake safe for recreation will eliminate the need to close the beaches when the Lake Agawam’s discharge pipe is opened after heavy rain.
The federal and town grants fully fund the installation of this filtration system. It’s already paid for!
All that’s needed now to deliver a clean lake, safe beaches, and more preserved open space is your “yes” vote on November 5th.
This November, vote “Yes” on Southampton Town’s Proposition to help clean the Lake.
On Tuesday, November 5th, there will be a proposition on the back of the ballot asking all Southampton Town voters if a portion of 43 South Main Street can be used for an important water quality project to place an algae harvester to filter the harmful toxins from Lake Agawam. Since the entire town of Southampton contributes to the
Community Preservation Fund (CPF) and can access Lake Agawam, everyone here has a say. In exchange for allowing the harvester to be placed at 43 South Main Street (69,989 sq. ft. in area), the Town will purchase 137 Pond Lane (209,864 sq. ft. in area) and dedicate it as additional parkland. This is more open space adjacent to other CPF properties. Once the algae harvester is removed, the land will still be publicly owned and utilized as parkland. It is a win-win! People who care about the environment are voting “Yes” on this important ballot proposition, you should too!
What will the algae harvester do?
- It can filter algae out of 3,000,000 gallons of lake water per day running 24/7.
- As the lake gets cleaner, running time can be dialed back.
- We should see results within six months.
- By the second year of operation we should see a significant drop in the algae load.
- By the third year the lake should be considered safe for recreation.
Where will the water for the harvester come from and where will it be released?
- Contaminated water will be drawn from the north end of the lake.
- The clean water will be discharged in the south end of the lake.
- Added environmental benefit: because the lake is periodically drained from the south end to control the water level, the discharge going into the ocean will be cleaner.
Will the harvester have any other impacts on the Village?
- The new plan eliminates dewatering, thus eliminating any odor.
- The noise level is about the same as an A/C unit: 50db @ 10 feet.
- A 3,000 to 5,000 gallon “water” truck will make one trip daily to remove harvested algae, taking less than an hour to load and leave.
- All piping and pumps will be underground or underwater, generating no noise.
- Only thing visible from the lake will be a normal dock.
LAC
Lake Agawam Conservancy (LAC) is dedicated to reviving Lake Agawam, its watershed, and its surrounding ecosystems to protect human health and ecological vitality. The Lake’s deterioration is a symptom of the pollution that plagues all our local water bodies. Protecting this shared natural resource for future generations is of paramount importance. LAC works alongside Southampton’s community and elected officials to address the root sources of water contamination including toxic landscape chemicals and aging septic systems. LAC supports scientific monitoring of the Lake water and nature-based and scientifically innovative interventions to cleanse the Lake in the short and long term.
Eight New Bioswales
It is an exciting time for us at the Lake Agawam Conservancy: there will be beautiful new bioswales all over Southampton Village. Thanks to the Village of Southampton Board of Trustees, the Conservancy is now the steward of eight bioswales throughout the Village. Some of these bioswales have already been planted and others will be planted soon. As many of you know, Lake Agawam Conservancy has advocated for the Village to install bioswales, which are like sinks with plantings that intercept stormwater and filter out pathogens, metals, oils, and other noxious chemicals before they reach the Lake. With grant funding, local leadership, and the generosity of our members, the bioswales are now underway!
A film about Lake Agawam by Chuck Scarborough
“The rehabilitation of Lake Agawam will be successful due to the committed efforts of concerned citizens working with Southampton Village and Southampton Town leadership under the direction and guidance as provided by experts in aquatic and marine science. The ‘Jewel of Southampton’ will once again be available for all to enjoy”
