Long Island drinking water concerns addressed at Levittown Public Library

A packed house attended a meeting at the Levittown Public Library on April 17 to learn about the pressing issues of water quality and consumption on Long Island, igniting a call to action among concerned community members.

The League of Women Voters of East Nassau, which hosted the meeting, invited   Sarah Meyland to make a presentation on the topic of water contamination and conservation. For more than 20 years, Meyland was a professor of sustainability at New York University, with a background in water quality. She also holds a degree in environmental law from St. John's University and a master’s in water resource management from Texas A&M.

According to Meyland, toxic chemicals in drinking water are the key issue regarding water quality in Nassau County. She explained that chemicals, such as nitrates, herbicides, pesticides and pathogens, are frequently found in the water supply.

On Long Island, groundwater is the sole source of drinking water. Separated by sand and dirt, groundwater is stored in geological formations called aquifers, which could store, transmit and yield usable quantities of water. As a result, chemicals that are used for farming often end up in the drinking water supply. Additionally, Nassau County has lateral saltwater intrusion due to excessive pumping and the relative distance between fresh and saltwater. This allows leaks of salt into freshwater aquifers responsible for 100 percent of the drinking water for Long Island.

Meyland added that quantity and overconsumption of water are the other issues facing Nassau County. Throughout Long Island, water consumption fluctuates with the seasons and rainfall.

Those who attended the April 17 meeting voiced concerns about both the toxicity and why there is a lack of water. One member in the audience asked about putting too much fertilizer on their lawns, to which Meyland responded by providing options for organic or slow release fertilizers that limits pesticides and herbicides but maintains healthy lawns.

“Too many swimming pools,” one audience member called out, jokingly. Meyland agreed that a chief reason for overconsumption is the many swimming pools in use during the summer months, also referred to as the peak demand period.

“We take 450 million gallons a day out of the aquifer system to meet the needs of Long Island,” Meyland said. “That’s a lot of water.”

Meyland explained that gallons are used to clean up contaminated sites, or are provided for irrigation, farming and commercial use.

Water use increases by 204 percent during the summer months, which is a huge part of the problem, Meyland said. During the winter months, with consistent rainfall it looks good for the groundwater divide. However, during hot summers and the peak demand period for pumping, that likelihood drops significantly, according to Meyland.

“We’re too extravagant in our water use… it takes time to achieve change in our water usage, so we have to start now,” Meyland said.

In 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation encouraged all water suppliers to reduce their usage by 15 percent to minimize future damage to the water supply. However, none of the suppliers has managed to come close, Meyland said. About $6 million was set aside by the state legislature in 2023 to start a water conservation program, but the move was overturned due to a change in legislation, according to Meyland.

“If you look at the rest of the U.S, and how they respond to water issues, they're doing way better,” Meyland said. “The amount of water (New York City) saved is equal to the daily amount of water we take out of our aquifer system. They made water conservation priority number one, and that's what we need to do.”

The effect of drinking water on the health of residents is unclear without further research, according to Meyland, but the League of Women Voters said its goal is to bring awareness to this issue and work toward a healthier water system. Barbara Epstein, co-President of the East Nassau group, suggested getting involved with voting in local campaigns as a call to action against water quality issues on Long Island.

The league’s East Nassau group advocates for topics that affect residents in and around the county and encourages and educates residents on voter services. The group is also actively involved in following county government issues. For more information on what the league does, call (516) 431-1628.