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Water Quality Improves in Long Island Sound; Nitrogen Pollution is Declining
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/596e17d7cac720848525781f0043629e/5a14c41ea6f73f3e85257d6c005bcc73!OpenDocument[font face=Serif][font size=5]Water Quality Improves in Long Island Sound; Nitrogen Pollution is Declining[/font]
Release Date: 10/09/2014
Contact Information: John Martin, EPA Region 2, 212-637-3662, martin.john@epa.gov; Emily Zimmerman, EPA Region 1, 617-918-1037, zimmerman.emily@epa.gov
[font size=3]Stamford, CT For the second summer in a row, concentrations of dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound are higher than the long-term average, indicating improved water quality and improved ecological conditions for organisms that live in the Sound. Aquatic animals rely on oxygen that is dissolved in water to survive. When dissolved oxygen levels decline, this can cause some animals to move away, weaken, or even die. Low dissolved oxygen can occur when nutrients such as nitrogen enter a water body in excess, over stimulating plant growth. Nutrients such as nitrogen can enter a water body through discharges of sewage and from fertilizer runoff. In recent years, Connecticut and New York State have worked with the EPA to implement a nitrogen pollution reduction plan to improve the Sound’s dissolved oxygen levels, and to protect aquatic animals and public health. Much of the improvements in water quality is attributable to wastewater treatment facility upgrades and other measures are reducing nitrogen pollution to the Long Island Sound.
“The work New York, Connecticut, local governments and the EPA have done to build and upgrade sewage treatment plants has significantly reduced the nitrogen going into Long Island Sound,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator. “We need to make financial investments in sewage treatment plants, and work to reduce pollution from septic systems and fertilizers, which also degrade water quality in Long Island Sound.”
"We hope the trend of improved dissolved oxygen levels in Long Island Sound continues. Investments in clean water are essential to a healthier ecosystem, which also contributes to more resilient and economically vibrant communities," said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of the EPA's New England office
…
In 2000, Connecticut and New York State developed a plan that contains a nitrogen pollution budget, called a Total Maximum Daily Load, to reduce the daily discharges of nitrogen by more than 58% from levels discharged in the early 1990s. Connecticut has reached its nitrogen reduction target for wastewater treatment facilities and New York is expected to reach its target by 2017. In 2013, Connecticut and New York wastewater treatment facilities in the Long Island Sound basin discharged 35 million fewer pounds of nitrogen compared to the amount discharged annually in the early 1990s, primarily due to advanced wastewater treatment upgrades that employ technologies to reduce nitrogen.
…[/font][/font]
Release Date: 10/09/2014
Contact Information: John Martin, EPA Region 2, 212-637-3662, martin.john@epa.gov; Emily Zimmerman, EPA Region 1, 617-918-1037, zimmerman.emily@epa.gov
[font size=3]Stamford, CT For the second summer in a row, concentrations of dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound are higher than the long-term average, indicating improved water quality and improved ecological conditions for organisms that live in the Sound. Aquatic animals rely on oxygen that is dissolved in water to survive. When dissolved oxygen levels decline, this can cause some animals to move away, weaken, or even die. Low dissolved oxygen can occur when nutrients such as nitrogen enter a water body in excess, over stimulating plant growth. Nutrients such as nitrogen can enter a water body through discharges of sewage and from fertilizer runoff. In recent years, Connecticut and New York State have worked with the EPA to implement a nitrogen pollution reduction plan to improve the Sound’s dissolved oxygen levels, and to protect aquatic animals and public health. Much of the improvements in water quality is attributable to wastewater treatment facility upgrades and other measures are reducing nitrogen pollution to the Long Island Sound.
“The work New York, Connecticut, local governments and the EPA have done to build and upgrade sewage treatment plants has significantly reduced the nitrogen going into Long Island Sound,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator. “We need to make financial investments in sewage treatment plants, and work to reduce pollution from septic systems and fertilizers, which also degrade water quality in Long Island Sound.”
"We hope the trend of improved dissolved oxygen levels in Long Island Sound continues. Investments in clean water are essential to a healthier ecosystem, which also contributes to more resilient and economically vibrant communities," said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of the EPA's New England office
…
In 2000, Connecticut and New York State developed a plan that contains a nitrogen pollution budget, called a Total Maximum Daily Load, to reduce the daily discharges of nitrogen by more than 58% from levels discharged in the early 1990s. Connecticut has reached its nitrogen reduction target for wastewater treatment facilities and New York is expected to reach its target by 2017. In 2013, Connecticut and New York wastewater treatment facilities in the Long Island Sound basin discharged 35 million fewer pounds of nitrogen compared to the amount discharged annually in the early 1990s, primarily due to advanced wastewater treatment upgrades that employ technologies to reduce nitrogen.
…[/font][/font]