• Maintain your personal sewage system. If you are on a municipal system be sure the lateral from your home or business is not cracked and leaking. If you have a septic system or cesspool have it inspected at least once every five years and repair as needed.

• Keep stormwater on your property and out of the storm drains when possible. Gardens, rain barrels, and other “green infrastructure” features can be used to recharge rainfall into the ground.

• Roof leaders, driveway drains, foundation drains and sump pumps should not be connected to the sanitary sewer line. If your property floods easily, these can be directed into a nearby storm drain or catch basin.

 

Advocate for wastewater infrastructure investments

• Support bonds or grants for improving wastewater infrastructure in your community.

• Join the Save the Sound mailing list and add your voice to our calls for greater wastewater investment on the state and federal level. 

 

Be a watchdog - document and report overflows

• If you see an overflowing manhole, a turbid discharge from a pipe, or anything else that looks like a sewage overflow, document it with pictures or video, record the time and location, and report it to your local authorities. You can also email the report to us at pollution@savethesound.org and we will follow up to ensure that a repair is made.

• If you see a storm drain flowing in dry weather (not during or within a few hours of precipitation) document it with pictures or video, record the time and location, and report it to your local authorities. You can also email the report to us at pollution@savethesound.org.

• All sewage overflows should be reported on the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation website. If there is an overflow in your community tell your local officials that the NY State Sewage Pollution Right to Know law requires public notification of that sewage leak, locally and on the DEC website. It’s the law.

 

Thanks for joining us to keep Long Island Sound safe and healthy!