North Hempstead, NY – North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the Town Board have announced that the Town has received a Water Quality Improvement Program grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) allowing it to lead the way and partner with 20 local villages and the City of Glen Cove on an inter-municipal program aimed at reducing contaminated storm water runoff into the Town’s bays and estuaries.

The intermuncipal agreements with the City of Glen Cove, which is the final municipality to joining the project, were unanimously approved by the Town Board at its September 27 meeting.
The grant funding allows the Town and the participating villages to more efficiently meet the standards of the State’s storm water program, which requires municipalities to manage their drainage systems and map them, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). These GIS maps would identify areas that may contribute to the impairment of Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor, and help local officials to track down potential sources of water pollution, such as failing septic systems.

“Stormwater runoff and septic systems are leading contributors to the pollution of our waterways and we must do our utmost to avoid nitrogen and other contaminants from reaching our surface water,” Supervisor Bosworth said. “This program is a win-win as it allows us to make progress on water quality, while partnering with our local villages in order to save taxpayer dollars.”

“The Manhasset Bay Protection Committee is thrilled that the Town of North Hempstead is moving forward with GIS mapping for our watershed. This project will greatly assist the Committee's municipalities in achieving the joint goal of protecting and restoring the Bay and is an excellent example of what can be achieved when we work together,” said Sarah Deonarine, Executive Director, Manhasset Bay Protection Committee.

"As Helen Keller said, 'Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much'. The GIS mapping project involving 21 municipalities is a perfect example of this. These maps will help us all properly plan, carry out and track our progress in improving our waterways," said Eric Swenson, Executive Director of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee.

The Town reached out to all of its villages, as well as the Villages of Sea Cliff and the City of Glen Cove in June 2015, to ask them to partner on this program. The partnership prevents each municipality from having to meet these requirements individually, which could potentially drive up costs for taxpayers. The Town’s Department of Public Works started creating GIS-based maps of its drainage infrastructure several years ago, and invited the Villages to participate in this grant in order to create a comprehensive map of all municipally-owned drainage infrastructure in the participating municipalities. This will allow environmental workers to track pollution as it crosses municipal boundaries.

Municipalities participating in the project include Village of Baxter Estates, Village of East Hills, Village of Flower Hill, City of Glen Cove, Village Of Great Neck Estates, Village of Great Neck Plaza, Village of Great Neck, Village of Kensington, Village of Kings Point, Village of Lake Success, Village of Manorhaven, Village of Munsey Park, Village of Plandome Heights, Village of Plandome Manor, Village of Plandome, Village of Port Washington North, Village of Roslyn Estates, Village of Russell Gardens, Village of Saddle Rock, Village of Sea Cliff, Village of Thomaston.

All work is being done at no cost to each village, with the village only required to provide a matching contribution in the form of a small amount of staff time.

Glen Cove Mayor Reginald Spinello stated: “Information mapping of Glen Cove’s storm and sewer service fulfills a critical need for our City and the Department of Public Works. We thank the Town of North Hempstead for including Glen Cove in their efforts and extend our gratitude to the Department of Environmental Conservation for funding this important initiative.”

Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said: “The Village of Great Neck Plaza is pleased to participate on this Town of North Hempstead grant and wants to commend Supervisor Bosworth and her staff for taking the lead and partnering with us and other villages in the town. This grant will greatly assist participating villages in obtaining updated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based maps of our local stormwater systems. This program is not only cost saving, it is invaluable for helping identify potential sources of water pollution and aiding future planning and better protection of our important water resources.”

Serving over 222,000 people, the Town of North Hempstead’s governing body is headed by the Town Supervisor, Judi Bosworth and six Town Board members: Viviana L. Russell, Peter J. Zuckerman, Angelo P. Ferrara, Anna M. Kaplan, Lee R. Seeman and Dina M. De Giorgio. The Town Clerk is Wayne Wink and the Receiver of Taxes is Charles Berman.

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