Long Island Marina Steps Up To Pay For Project Keeping Local Water Clean
GREENPORT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A Long Island marina is looking to clean up the water ways on the North Fork.
It's even offering to pick up the tab on a project to help the whole community.
Kids splashing and boats cruising by are just some of the sights of the summer on Long Island, especially on Sandy Beach in Greenport.
"The North Fork is beautiful and we want to keep it that way," boater Lynn Zinn said.
In order to do that, residents have been asking for years to hook up the 26 houses along the beach to the town of Greenport's sewer system. They've been told they're too far and the project would cost too much.
"We are all on a septic system, each one has their own that go back to a time when all they had out here was out houses," Steve Bull said.
Bull's home is 140 years-old. The outhouse was replaced decades ago, but the septic tanks the community still uses is a cause for alarm – constantly polluting the water.
"They have some people that do pump outs but most of gets leached into the water," Bull added.
Now Safe Harbor Marinas, located yards away from Sandy Beach, has offered to foot a significant portion of the nearly $2 million bill.
"We are trying to preserve the waterways so that our children can enjoy it the way we did," Sean Gilligan, the general manger for Safe Harbor Marinas said.
The project will also connect the marina to the sewer system, helping out its boaters as well.
"We have one of the most beautiful boating areas in the country, if people can't have clean water, clean fish, healthy fish, then they're not going to be here or boating," Gilligan added.
The project still needs a little bit more funding from the state and town. Once they get that, they will draw up plans to complete the redesign.
