The Town of Southold created a water conservation committee to guide education and recommend actions to the Town Board.
To help inform the committee and gain understanding of the issues, this study was executed by Peconic Green Growth, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, with a grant from the Long Island Community Foundation. After evaluating 38,000 SCWA records and combining with Town data, we discovered that:
The Town of Southold is currently consuming water at an unsustainable level if the town wishes to rely on its own freshwater aquifer supplies.
Please read the summaries and full report below.
The below illustrations give the contour elevations of groundwater. Please compare the 2010 with the 2016 maps.
One foot of elevation represents approximately 40 feet of depth. Our aquifers are shrinking.
2010
2016
- Water Consumption in the Town of Southold – 2 page summary
- Water Consumption in the Town of Southold – Executive Summary with Illustrations (6 pages)
- Water Consumption in the Town of Southold – Full Report
Appendices:
- Groundwater Influence Zones, Town of Southold
- NYSDEC records of Pumpage for Public Wells
- SCWA Pumpage by Well
- Other Resources
- PGG and the Water Conservation Committee have put together a list of resources to help you understand both the importance of water protection in our very special ecosystem and ways to improve how we use and impact water.
