Nassau County Legislator Steve Rhoads has sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking the State to delay and take no further action in New York City’s request to reactive 68 groundwater wells located on the Queens/Nassau border. Nassau County is completely dependent on its sole source aquifers to provide reliable, and clean water for close to 1,400,000 people. Increased pumping of these wells from New York City will impact the state of the aquifers, and cause an increase in the potential for saltwater intrusion, and affect the movement of existing toxic chemicals and plumes.
Members of the Republican Caucus joined with State Senators Elaine Phillips and Todd Kaminsky, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, local activists, and other politicians on Thursday, February 1st, at a bi-partisan press conference, to echo their call to the State to stop any action in reopening the wells, until a sustainability study is done and the affects to Nassau County are quantified.
“I'm pleased to be a part of the bi-partisan effort to protect Long Island's sole-source aquifer from the real and present danger posed by New York City's plan to reopen long-dormant Queens wells,” Legislator Steve Rhoads said. “While New York City has multiple sources of drinkable water, we have just one. The City's proposal to draw on Long Island water threatens the inevitable results of over pumping -- salt water intrusion and plume migration--which will put the safety of our drinking water at risk. The State's Department of Environmental Conservation must do the only responsible thing: Wait for the results of the ongoing sustainability study and then follow the science in rejecting New York City's ill-advised proposal.”