HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/13/2025
Town of Southold Water Advisory Committee – Meeting Minutes
November 13, 2025
A?endees: Kate, Kariane, Caroline (virtual), Anne Smith, Anne Murray, Joe Finora
Commi?ee Member A?endees: Kate, Joe, Caroline (virtual) (no quorum)
Agenda:
1. Next steps: Kariane is going to check with IT about microphones and sound recording.
2. Mee?ng calendar: need full Commi?ee approval, Will solicit by email given low
a?endance. Members present approved proposed dates.
3. Update: WAC members unable to meet with Bob DeLuca and that held up sharing the
WAC zoning recommenda?ons document with Heather. Can Town representa?ves
advance the mee?ng request? Board has more ?me to review zoning recommenda?ons.
Anne encourages us to try again with Bob.
a. Next step: Anne Murray to follow up with Bob. Idea is that Bob could help review
for legal defensibility in the zoning code. E.g. idea of en?re town becoming
aquifer protec?on district.
b. Anne Smith recommends: A?er Bob, we give to Planning/Heather, then a?er
WAC should present at a January Board Work Session, rather than just giving to
Heather. If Bob doesn’t respond within two week we’ll send to Heather.
4. Update needed: Did John recirculate one-pager will speak to town a?orney about
conver?ng one-pager, and ask Ben if the State has confirmed that it registered the
legislatures.
5. Caroline flagged: Need for Aquifer Yield Study. Voorhees report. Uses economic data,
hydrogeologic data, etc. Worked with Town of Southold to put together plan that
balances view ways and agricultural protec?on with water quality. Lots of data on
housing, moving development toward the hamlets. Some of the work was integrated
into what the town has been doing piecemeal since that ?me, other parts not
integrated. Recommenda?ons in that report that town put together a Groundwater Unit
to make sure the recommenda?ons were executed. There was a water plan. The town
could use an Aquifer Yield Study to establish how much yield our aquifer can sustain.
Supervisor Krupski has asked in several mee?ngs “how much housing can we manage”?
The DWSP2 project asked this ques?on too.
a. Data is missing. Guesswork when pu?ng in wells.
b. Towns of Southampton and Easthampton ran similar reports and then updated
zoning much earlier than Southold and incorporated that informa?on into their
zoning updates, including the protec?on of their deep recharge areas.
c. QUESTION: We need an Aquifer Yield Study, and have one that’s been buried. Do
we want to explore this with 25-year-old report, though the data is stale. Could
be an important tool for the town.
d. Has Al heard back from Fred Stumm yet? He was going to give the town a
proposal to do a study, and that would be an important first step.
e. Could be a resources issue for the town.
f. NEXT STEP: Ask Heather if she’s incorpora?ng this report into her
recommenda?ons for planning updates (focus on voluntary conserva?on of
agricultural land, maintain viewways, drive development toward hamlets and
shorelines).
g. We s?ll don’t have a picture of what the full build-out of the town could look
like and how our infrastructure could support that, either under current zoning
or updated zoning.
h. Can we work with Suffolk County DOH and State DEC on these issues if we
don’t have the resources ourselves? How to protect our groundwater zones.
6. How can we help Orient in their water challenges and advancing the
recommenda?ons from their Water Study?