A White Plains-based firm has been selected to investigate private septic systems in various North Shore communities that officials said are responsible for the contamination that has closed a Glen Cove beach for more than five years.
Dvirka and Bartilucci will spearhead a feasibility study for sewage management options in areas located near Hempstead Harbor that are not protected by public sewage systems, among them Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Flower Hill, Roslyn Harbor, Sands Point and Sea Cliff.
Cesspools from these areas likely caused the contamination that closed Crescent Beach in Glen Cove in 2009 and ended shell fishing in the area, officials said.
“I am pleased that the county is moving forward with this important study. This study will give homeowners and sewer districts the tools to make appropriate decisions,” Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said in a statement. I look forward to working with the mayors to use the information determined by this study to protect the harbor and aquifer.”
North Shore residences make up the 10 percent of households and businesses in Nassau County that not connected to public sewers, officials said.
Untreated water containing bacteria and nitrogen — which in the past was believed to be naturally absorbed into the soil — has been known to make its way into nearby bays and aquifers due to high ground water levels, changes in ground water movement and poorly-designed septic systems, officials said.
“This is exciting news,” said Eric Sewnson, executive director of the Hempstead Harbor Committee, which partners with protection committees for Manhasset Bay, Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor and Friends of the Bay to form CESSPOOL, also known as Coordinated Environmental Solutions to Septic Problems Occurring on Long Island.
“The county study will give the CESSPOOL program and our committee some solid data to work with,” he added.
