Village Scores $140,000 Grant for Lake Agawam

The turbid waters of in Southampton Village may appear clearer in the coming months, thanks to a joint $140,000 project between and Suffolk County.

The $140,000 grant from Suffolk County to Southampton Village will pay for the installation of a number of catch basins along Bowden Square and at on Windmill Lane, said Mayor Mark Epley. The basins, emptied periodically by vacuum trucks, will decrease the amount of runoff entering the lake, he said.

“They catch oils, rubbers, metals that come off vehicles and are on the ground,” Epley said.

Epley hopes to have the catch basin project completed by next spring. This fall, the village will put out a request for proposals and then award a contract, he said.

The lake’s health has improved in recent years, said Mark Fichandler, a member of the Lake Agawam Conservation Association. He said he strongly supports the installation of more catch basins.

“It’s always hard to determine exact cause and effect, with the runoff from road to lake,” Fichandler said. “But this is good, because the road runoff brings negative attributes into lake whenever there’s rainfall.”

The Lake Agawam Conservation Association partnered with to monitor the health of the lake. Chlorophyll levels, greatly affected by rainwater runoff, are lower than a peak reported in 2006, according to a recent report. But, the levels are still abnormally high, meaning that an algae bloom could lead to a fish kill.

The July 2011 report, available on LakeAgawam.com, states that oxygen levels are high, a good sign.

The catch basin project has been eight years in the making, Epley said. The effort originally began as a joint $650,000 venture between Southampton Village, Southampton Town and Suffolk County. But, the project fell by the wayside in 2009 when the town cut the position of stormwater manager, held by Walter Bundy.

Epley said that the village recently went back to Suffolk County on its own to start the project again. The money the village spent on installing nine catch basins on Hill Street and other abatement programs about two years ago counts toward the one-to-one match the county requires for the $140,000 grant, Epley said.