Cleaner water in our Western Bays

Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE), The Nature Conservancy & Operation SPLASH are working with the Western Bays Coalition for the last decade to restore water quality in the Western Bays, a sub region of the South Shore Estuary Reserve. 

The Western Bays are home to the largest concentration of salt marshes in the reserve, provide critical habitat for birds and marine species and protect communities from storm surges and flooding.  

Environmentalists fought long and hard for significant upgrades to the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant to reduce excessive, polluting nitrogen in the Western Bays. Scientific studies proved unequivocally that the Western Bays were dying and to restore the bays it is necessary to reduce nitrogen and re-locate the Bay Park outfall pipe from the bay into the ocean. 

Environmentalists’ actions rendered in two main results:

Two types of nitrogen reducing technologies were installed at the Bay Park Treatment plant resulting in a yearly average reduction of 63 percent in nitrogen discharge and in the summer the reduction is 75 percent.  Bay Park treats 50-60 million gallons per day of sewage; therefore, this reduction is significant to the western bays. This results in discharge of 13.8mg/l of nitrogen as compared to 31.8 mg/l prior to implementing the denitrification technology. 

The Bay Park Conveyance Project, the most environmentally significant project ever implemented in Nassau County, was established.  Once completed, this project will redirect treated effluent to the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant’s Ocean outfall pipe, moving the effluent out of the Western Bays.  

“Environmentalists launched our campaign to save the Western Bays two decades ago. Since then, we have urgently and persistently advocated for upgrading the Bay Park STP and relocating the treated effluent.  It is a cornerstone of our water quality restoration campaign to Save the Western Bays. Now, with technology installed, we are witnessing significant nitrogen reductions coming out of the plant,” stated Adrienne Esposito, executive director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This is meaningful progress that benefits everyone and especially those of us who love the bay. This is a celebration in the making.  The public loves our bays, and it is heartwarming to see progress!”