The North Fork Environmental Council will close out its 2026 Summer Speaker Series on Thursday, August 13 at 6 p.m. with “The Water We Drink, The Water We Love,” a free panel discussion on how everyday choices affect Long Island’s sole-source aquifer and the creeks, bays and estuaries that depend on it.
The program will be held at the Jamesport Meeting House in Jamesport. As with all NFEC speaker series events, it’s free and open to the public, and no registration is required.
The panel features Frederick Stumm, PG, Ph.D., a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who has spent more than two decades studying Long Island’s groundwater system. He leads the USGS Long Island Groundwater Sustainability Project and has published widely saltwater intrusion and the hydrogeologic framework that determines how contaminants move into drinking water wells.
Joining him is Alexa Annunziata, Director of Outreach at Peconic Baykeeper, who leads the organization’s water quality monitoring work, including its Blue Water Task Force program tracking bacteria and pollution across the Peconic Estuary. A North Fork resident with a master’s degree in marine Conservation and Policy from Stony Brook University, Annunziata previously worked in Suffolk County government’s marine program.
Why Now
Southold’s water issues have been in the news all summer. On July 14, the Suffolk County Water Authority issued a Stage 1 Water Alert for Southold Town, citing drought conditions and aquifer levels among the lowest in a decade. That followed Southold’s adoption last year of a law requiring smart irrigation controls to protect the town’s sole-source aquifer.
This spring, several Southold creeks, including Jockey Creek, Town Creek and Goose Creek, were also closed to shellfish harvesting after elevated marine biotoxins were detected, one piece of a broader set of nitrogen-related water quality problems researchers have documented across Long Island this year.
The event also comes as the Suffolk County Water Authority revises its plan for a pipeline that would bring public water to Southold from an area in Southampton that is partially in the Pine Barrens. SCWA announced the new route for the project in July, and Southold officials continue to raise questions about the source aquifer’s water quality and capacity, and about the growth that new public water access could bring. Panelists expect to address how that proposal fits into the larger conversation about protecting the aquifer that the evening is built around.
The August 13 program is the third and final event in NFEC’s 2026 Summer Speaker Series, following “When Nature Gives a Warning” (May 14, George Young Community Center) and “Don’t Waste the Earth” (June 16, McCall Vineyard).
The North Fork Environmental Council is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the natural resources, rural character and quality of life of Long Island’s North Fork. For more information, visit nfec1.org.
Keep Independent News on the East End
The Beacon is able to provide all of our content online free of charge thanks to support from our readers. Be a vital part of keeping our community informed!
Advertisement
