Saving the Sound: Sewage Spills

Beaches were closed last week after a malfunctioning sewage treatment plant in New York City released millions of gallons of untreated sewage into Long Island Sound, a reminder of how much more needs to be done in saving the Sound.

Of course, New York City most bears responsibility for the spill, which closed 30 beaches along the Westchester and Connecticut shore, and kept wary Long Islanders out of the waters. Apparently, a pump malfunctioned at a sewage treatment plant in the Bronx, and went undetected for the better part of a day, an inexcusable lapse.

The Sound is not only being jeopardized by such mismanagement but by the sheer volume of the sewage New York City discharges. The city is working to correct the effects of combined sewers which tend to flood the city's sewage treatment plants in heavy rains, sending untreated wastes into the Sound and forcing beach closings. This should help, but the sheer volume of nitrogen pollution in the city's sewage also threatens marine life. The federally sponsored Long Island Sound Study has called for new targets to reduce nitrogen by nearly 60 per cent over the next fifteen years, a worthy goal. Some Long Island communities are balking at requirements to clean up their sewage treatment plants, arguing the city should be the first to do so.

Well we think that bickering over who goes first is a lame argument. Still, goals to clean up nitrogen and protect beaches can only be reached if New York City and the state lead the way in saving the Sound.