Legislator Spencer Joins Suffolk County Water Authority and Northport Community for WaterTalk Forum

LongIsland.com

Meeting informed residents of issues affecting sole-source aquifer and fostered a robust dialogue between the water supplier and the community.

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Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer, M.D. was pleased to join officials from the Suffolk County Water Authority for a WaterTalk Forum.

Photo by: Office of Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer

Northport, NY - April 18, 2017 - Suffolk County Legislator William R. Spencer, M.D. was pleased to join officials from the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) last Tuesday at the Northport American Legion for a WaterTalk Forum. The meeting, which is part of a ten year educational initiative, seeks to inform residents of issues affecting our sole-source aquifer and foster a robust dialogue between the water supplier and the community. 
 
Water Authority Chairman James Gaughran opened up the evening discussing the goal of the program, "With so much information circulating throughout the public about groundwater quality and quality of our drinking water, our goal here is to give all residents that we serve the chance to communicate directly to our on-staff water quality experts," said Gaughran. "We feel we can help residents better understand what the most significant challenges to our aquifer systems are and, most importantly, what we can all do to ensure that our water is protected today and for our future generations of Suffolk residents."
 
Laboratory and hydrogeology staff, including SCWA Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations Joseph Pokorny, Water Resource Manager Steve Colabufo, and Laboratory Manager Christopher Niebling provided a comprehensive overview of how the authority ensures that clean and affordable water is provided to more than 1.2 million people across Suffolk County daily. After the presentation, residents had the opportunity to ask questions on any water quality issue of concern to them.  Some topics discussed included how the SCWA well system operates, the working relationship between the SCWA and local municipalities, concerns over pesticide and agricultural runoff, lead in drinking water, and the emerging contaminant 1,4 Dioxane.
 
“Water is something so simple but so important to our lives here on Long Island. We all play a role and together we must be proactive about protecting our water supply,” said Legislator Spencer. “It’s through collaboration that we’ve made tremendous strides. We can see that in the work of LICAP, where Suffolk and Nassau Counties came together and formed a commission with a task of addressing our water quantity and quality issues. Through their effort, for the first time ever, we are working to create a regional plan to approach groundwater resource management.  I am confident by keeping this ongoing, unprecedented dialogue open with the public, that our water supply and our health will benefit.” 
 
For information regarding the next WaterTalk forum, visit https://www.scwa.com/.