When the HHPC was formed in 1995, a community organization, the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, had already established a comprehensive water-quality monitoring program in the harbor. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the HHPC decided to adopt and support this existing program.
This program, now in its 28th year (2019), has expanded over the years and is widely acknowledged to be one of the best monitoring programs in Long Island Sound. It is largely funded through grants obtained by HHPC. The Nassau County Department of Health provides laboratory services for the bacteria monitoring.
Having good water quality data is essential to our mission as it provides us with needed trends and locations and serves as a means to evaluate whether our efforts are working or not.
The core program typically begins in May and ends in late October. A second more limited program begins in November and continues through April.
The core program involves weekly monitoring at up to 21 locations and includes tests for dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity (water clarity), nitrogen, bacteria (2 types), weather and wildlife observations are noted as well as anything unusual (algae blooms, illicit discharges, etc.).
The winter monitoring is biweekly and focuses on bacteria (2 types) at the Powerhouse Drain in Glenwood Landing and occasionally at Scudder’s Pond in Sea Cliff.
A comprehensive Annual Hempstead Harbor Water-Quality Report is prepared each year which analyzes the data and describes any trends.
Annual reports and other water quality data can be found on this website under Documents > Water Quality Data (year).