Long Island faces threat to drinking water Is your water safe for drinking? Or bathing? Or washing your dishes? That was the question we sought to answer for Long Island residents with a panel of experts at a recent community forum on the subject hosted by these papers and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset. The answer was more than a little concerning. The panelists offered different answers on who should oversee Long Island’s water supply but were all in agreement on current health threats, the lack of help expected from the federal government and Long Island’s unique vulnerability to those health threats. That vulnerability is based on Long Island’s sole reliance for water on aquifers under the ground, which over many decades have come under assault from the activities of a growing population on top of the ground. These include toxic chemicals, nitrogen released by fertilizers and leaking septic tanks, spills of gasoline and chemicals and commercial manufacturing, often dating back to the Second World War when Long Island was home to companies supporting the war effort such as Grumman and Unisys. The byproduct of those efforts during World War II is found in toxic plumes emanating from beneath Bethpage and Lake Success. The Bethpage plume stretches for four miles. The Lake Success plume is monitored and, when needed, treated by Lockheed Martin; the Bethpage plume by Grumman. Long Island also leads the nation with 250 Superfund sites – land that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. In case you haven’t noticed, the environment is not a big priority of the Trump administration and little if any money is on the way from the federal government to help. But the biggest threat to consumers is 1,4-dioxane — a chemical that the state does not even regulate yet. The chemical, which is designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a likely carcinogen associated with liver and kidney damage, is not removed through conventional treatment methods. This has created a newfound uncertainty about the safety of Long Island’s drinking water. Read full editorial article about Long Islands water here