Clean water is not a partisan issue, but Republican legislators made it political by tabling a measure to put water quality initiative on the ballot

Last week, you, the voters, were denied the opportunity to make your own choice on the future of Suffolk County’s water quality.

I was disappointed and shocked that the Republican majority of the Suffolk County Legislature voted to table a resolution that would have put a referendum on the ballot this November. The referendum would allow voters to approve or deny the consolidation of the county’s sewer districts and create a fund to be specifically used for continued sewering, where it makes sense, and provide assistance for homeowners required to use advanced “active treatment” wastewater systems, where sewering is not an option. 

While I support this measure and would have wholeheartedly voted ‘yes’ on the referendum, (see why below) that is not the point — the glaring issue here is that the Republican majority didn’t trust voters to decide what is best. 

Suffolk County is an island; we get our drinking water from below our feet, we’re proud of our beaches and of our waterways, and our way of life is defined by water. Water draws us here, and in an increasingly divided time, the need to protect our clean water unites us.

The science is clear. Nitrogen pollution from untreated wastewater is having negative impacts on our bays, harbors, and drinking water. When you and your family want to go to the beach and can’t because it’s closed due to harmful algal blooms, or clamming is banned due to bacterial contamination, that’s a direct result of nearly 400,000 antiquated cesspools and septic systems leaching contaminants into our water. 

The solution is to modernize these wastewater systems — in some dense places, this means sewers. But for most homeowners, especially in more rural areas like the East End, the solution is modern “active treatment” systems to replace old septics and cesspools. And that is exactly what the funds allocated by this referendum will go towards. 

Leaders like County Executive Bellone and Legislator Krupski worked with labor organizations, environmentalists, and business leaders on a plan to create a Water Quality Restoration Fund to protect clean water by helping homeowners replace their old systems and expanding sewers in appropriate areas. Working together, they got State approval to put a referendum on the ballot to let the voters decide if they would agree to a 1/8 of a penny increase to the county’s sales tax to fund this initiative. 

For context, this 1/8 of a penny increase would amount to approximately 12 cents on a $100 purchase. And yet, they have now stripped you of the opportunity to decide if that 12 cents is a fair trade-off for clean water. 

Worse still, the Republican legislators said they opposed the fund because it allocates most of the funds (75%) to help individual homeowners replace their septic systems, and they want the vast majority of the fund to go to create more sewers. This is a direct attack on the East End. While I understand the importance of sewering downtowns, of course, the vast majority of homeowners on the East End will not benefit from them and will need to pursue active treatment wastewater systems, which apparently the Republican legislators do not think you should have adequate assistance to pay for. 

Clean water should not be a partisan issue, and leaders should not pit communities against one another. Instead of putting politics over people, let the public decide for themselves. 

Catherine Kent is a candidate for the Suffolk County Legislature in the First Legislative District. She lives in Baiting Hollow.

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