Suffolk County Water Authority Director of Strategic Initiatives and Lead Hydrogeologist Tyrand Fuller briefed a committee of New York State Assembly and Senate members during a public hearing on water quality in Hauppauge, Monday.
Fuller discussed various groundwater threats the Authority is addressing, as well as updated the committee on the progress of the Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection (LICAP), including the creation of "WaterTraq": New York State’s first GIS-based groundwater mapping website. He also discussed a water conservation initiative spearheaded by the Authority on the East End this summer and a pilot project developed by Authority staff to remove the contaminant 1,4-Dioxane from groundwater. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced his support for the pilot project.
"We were happy to contribute testimony to the recent hearing into the potential dangers of sand mining to the groundwater supply, and have since the hearing developed the methodology to potentially identify illegal sand mining facilities via GIS mapping," Fuller said. "And we’re proud to have partnered with you on so many initiatives in the past to protect groundwater, including the ban of the chemical MTBE, the Pine Barrens Protection Act, the regulation of underground storage tanks and hazardous materials and so much more."
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.