Letters to the Editor: Lynbrook, East Rockaway

Sept. 12-18, 2013

Posted

Bay water quality questionable

To the Editor:
Karen Bloom’s article in the Aug. 29-Sept. 4 issue of the Herald promoting our local parks was admirable (“Late summer at a park near you”).
The story, however, should have contained a caveat regarding Hewlett Point Beach. While the pool there is perfectly safe, the same cannot be said of the bay water. When Sandy blasted through here last October, the Bay Park Sewage Plant was knocked out of commission. Several million gallons of untreated waste exploded from the underground pipes and up from toilets in our village. All that spillage ended up in the waters of Hewlett Bay.
As of today, and likely for many more months, the plant is being run on several portable electric generators. While they keep it running, there are still millions of gallons of partially treated sewage being pumped into Reynolds Channel in Island Park. The proximity of that discharge keeps the water quality of Hewlett Bay and surrounding waters at a level that is at best unpleasant and most probably dangerous.
I realize Bloom’s article was not an editorial, but the water quality of the parks you recommend should be considered.

Peter Dixon
East Rockaway

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