By Samuel Glasser
Water consumption is a critical issue for Long Island considering that the region is wholly dependent on aquifers so, in that regard, Sands Point village Water Commissioner Daniel Scheyer had good news, reporting that consumption substantially declined during 2018 for the second consecutive year.
He presented figures to the village board at the monthly meeting Tuesday night that showed water usage in 2018 declined by 5.6 percent to 359.5 million gallons compared with the 380.7 million gallons used during 2017 and was down by 23.3 percent from the peak year of 2016, when usage totaled 468.5 million gallons.
Mayor Edward Adler later explained that 2015 and 2016 were drought years and consumption soared as homeowners used their full landscape irrigation allotment of watering for three hours a day three days a week.
It is believed that one reason for the reduced consumption lies with the villagewide installation of new “smart” digital meters that was completed last year, the first summer that the new meters were in place, Adler said.
The new meters can be read from the Water Department, enabling officials to rapidly detect leaks that might otherwise go unnoticed and have already saved hundreds of thousands of gallons, Adler said.
He also said that this spring an online system will go live that will allow each homeowner to see usage at any time.
Additionally, the village is offering a $150 credit on water bills as an incentive for homeowners to install a smart controller for their sprinkler systems. The device receives localized weather forecasts via the internet and prevents the sprinkler from going on if there is a 70 percent chance of rain or if there was rainfall in the hours before a scheduled watering.
The board engaged the consulting firm Greenman-Pedersen Inc. of Babylon to conduct the first phase of a study on the use of plants in landscaping projects that can require reduced amounts of water. It is envisioned that eventually, the consultants will advise the Planning Board when reviewing site plans for new landscaping projects.
In other business, the village board received a Planning Board decision finalizing the plan to divide a large lot on Hicks Lane into five building lots, including the existing house. It also received a zoning appeals board decision approving the subdivision of a lot on Cornwells Beach Road to allow construction of one additional home. No building permit applications have been filed thus far for either site.
The Building Department issued seven building permits and three demolition permits in December.
Grievance day is Feb. 19 and the village will adopt its previous assessment roll rather than follow Nassau County’s reassessment.
A public hearing will be held at the March 26 board meeting concerning the village budget for the coming fiscal year.
The next village board meeting will be held on Feb. 26.
