Georgica Pond Is in Trouble, Supervisor Says

Georgica Pond is the focus of a new effort to reverse the effects of pollution. Photo by Morgan McGivern.

Georgica Pond will only be brought back to health through new approaches to waste management, landscaping practices, and road runoff.

That was the consensus of a meeting Friday at Town Hall that included officials of East Hampton Town and Village, the town trustees, the Nature Conservancy, a coastal ecology researcher, and a property owners’ association, all of whom pledged cooperation in the effort. The pond has experienced dense, harmful algal blooms in the past two summers.

“We know that we have a growing problem that is the result of many years of human activity, mostly,” Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell told the group, referring to other local waterways that have suffered similar algal blooms. The algae suppress oxygen, killing fish and posing health hazards to humans. “In focusing on Georgica Pond, there’s a unique opportunity here, because we have a group of people coming together to try to deal with this,” Mr. Cantwell said.

Read complete article in the East Hampton Star.