As part of a class assignment in Distilling Your Message, Professors Carl Safina and Christine O’Connell have students write a letter to the editor and send it in. The letter written by SoMAS Marine Conservation and Policy students Katie Flowers and Danica Warns was published in Newsday on November 18, 2014.
Letter: Lloyd aquifer must remain protected – Newsday.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation acknowledges that the potential effect of pumping from the Lloyd aquifer is not well understood, as noted in “Bid to pump from the purest water underlying LI prompts worries about contamination, saltwater intrusion” [News, Nov. 3].
Instead of turning to a new source of fresh water, officials need to focus on contaminant sources and problems with the currently pumped aquifers.
Inability to manage these aquifers should not prod us to take water from a pristine source.
Some communities rely solely on the Lloyd, and pumping from it could threaten their only source of fresh water.
Recent research shows that saltwater proximity to the Lloyd — and potential intrusion — is closer than previously thought.
Treatment plants to remove contaminants from Long Island’s water are adequate for now. However, we should focus on making the current sources safer for the future.
Officials should protect the clean water in the Lloyd by not allowing further pumping.
Danica Warns, Katie Flowers, Stony Brook
Editor’s note: The writers are master’s candidates in the marine conservation and policy program at Stony Brook University.
A related post is available on the Marine Conservation and Policy Website.
