Clean Water
State Revolving Fund
ACTIVITY
UPDATE
New York CWSRF Makes $75 Million
Land Acquisition Loan in Pine Barrens
Suffolk County has
borrowed $75 million
from the New York
CWSRF to protect land
in the main recharge
zone for its drinking
water supply
Contact:
David Geisinger
New York Environmental
Facilities Corporation
518-457-3833
The New York Clean Water State
Revolving Fund made a loan of $75
million for land acquisition in the Pine
Barrens Wilderness and Water Protection
Preserve on Long Island. The acquisition
is part of a larger plan by state, local and
private organizations to protect the main
recharge zone for Suffolk County's
drinking water supply This system is the
sole source aquifer for 2.6 million people.
The Pine Barrens is a valuable natural
resource because its sandy, porous soil
readily absorbs precipitation, acting as a
recharge area for the underground water
supply. The water is purified as it passes
through layers of soil until it reaches the
underground water stored in the aquifer
system. This characteristic of the porous
soil also creates an added risk from
leaking septic tank effluent reaching the
aquifer untreated.
Road paving, housing and commercial
development are disrupting this natural
process by vastly reducing the rate at
which water is being recharged in the
underlying aquifer. At the same time,
water continues to be withdrawn at an
increasing rate as the population and
commercial/industrial activity increases.
In coastal areas, when withdrawal
increases and recharge cannot keep up
with it, salt water intrusion results. A
second impact of increased development
on the porous soils of the Pine Barrens is
that septic tank effluent can reach the
aquifer relatively untreated.
In addition, because development lowers
the absorption rate, more of the
precipitation becomes runoff. Runoff
becomes contaminated by oils, animal
feces, and garbage as it passes over less
permeable land and road surfaces before it
enters Long Island Sound, Great South Bay,
Peconic Bay or the Atlantic Ocean.
The Long Island Pine Barrens aquifers are
so precious that in 1993 a referendum was
passed to preserve 100,000 acres of the
Pine Barrens as the third largest state park.
The Pine Barrens hosts the greatest
di versity of plants and animals in New
York State, including a number of
endangered or threatened species.
As part of a statewide partnership to protect
the Pine Barrens, New York's CWSRF has
made a loan of $75 million to Suffolk
County to acquire land in priority aquifer
recharge areas. The loan addresses
nonpoint source pollution and is consistent
with the New York's Nonpoint Source
Management Plan. The loan is guaranteed
by a General Obligation pledge from the
county.

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