After many requests we have added a new feature to our website to enable you to view twelve months of your water and electric usage. Our website will also allow you to view or download at least two years of your past bills. You may also choose to have your bills emailed instead of sent through the regular mail.
To utilize this feature, you must first sign up for online bill viewing. The steps to do this are listed here.
Click on the “view my bill” link on the top of the screen.
If you already have a username and password just sign in and the usage should be on the first screen. You may change usage type or meter (if you have multiple) by clicking on the drop-down menu.
If you do not already have a username and password:
Click on new user register button. You must have your full account number including all leading zeros.
Once signed up you will be able to view your usage history, as well as past and current bills.
If you have any issues trying to sign up or sign in, please contact our offices and we will be happy to assist you.
By Professor Pete Raymond Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies peter.raymond@yale.edu May 22, 2019
Clean and sufficient water is an important part of any community’s well-being. As stated in the Fishers Island Watershed Protection Standards set by the Suffolk County Health Department, our community relies on “an interrelated fragile system of ground and surface water sources for public water supply.” Currently, we rely on a mixture of groundwater from wells and surface water from Barlow Pond. The ponds, in particular, Middle Farms Pond, are also connected to the groundwater we rely on. That is, water from the ponds flows directly into the groundwater aquifers that are used by our community.
Historically, the Island started by consuming untreated surface water. In the early 1900s water was sourced from Barlow Pond and into a distribution system without any treatment. In the 1920s a water treatment facility was built and a number of the other Island ponds, including Middle Farms, were connected to Barlow in order to augment Barlow during times of water shortage. In the 1960s two groundwater wells were placed in the Middle Farm Flats to the west of Middle Farms pond, with additional wells and a groundwater treatment facility added in the 1980s. Currently, via the new well filtration plant, the groundwater wells provide water to the Island year round. Reserve capacity can be provided with treated surface pond water from Barlow.
Google Earth image showing algal bloom in Middle Farms Pond during the early summer of 2016.
In 2016 the Northeast was hit with a major drought. During the drought, I had an active project on the Connecticut River and many of the streams of Connecticut witnessed their lowest flow in 80 years of record. This was a historic one hundred year drought. The Water Company saw signs of an algal bloom at Middle Farms Pond. In fact, the algal bloom could be seen by space from a May aerial from Google Earth. Due to the bloom, the Water Company restricted recreational use of the pond and asked me to do a preliminary evaluation of Middle Farms Pond. During the summer of 2018, I deployed an instrument, and with help from the Water Company took water samples for a number of months. I also reviewed the information made available to me from past measurements and studies. My more detailed preliminary report can be found here: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.8168042.
During 2018 there were no indications that Middle Farms was in, or near, bloom conditions. Oxygen and nutrient measurements were not consistent with an algal bloom, nor was the pond visually impacted as it was in 2016. My initial assessment, informed from some depth profiles of oxygen, is there is likely a large amount of organic matter, with its associated nutrients stored in the sediments of Middle Farms. This organic matter has probably accrued slowly over the past decades due to inputs of nutrients from the human activities in the watershed and with rainfall. During the summer, as water temperatures warm, this organic matter is decomposed by natural communities of bacteria and the nutrient associated with the organic matter are released. Since Middle Farms is shallow it does not thermally stratify like many deeper lakes, and these nutrients can easily and quickly diffuse into the surface waters where they support summer algal growth. During most years it appears this growth is moderate. During drought conditions, however, the water temperatures of the pond become higher due to a lower lake volume and increased sunlight. This likely leads to greater organic matter decomposition and better conditions for algal growth. Furthermore, droughts are also associated with optimal sunlight due to less frequent cloud cover that can also stimulate aquatic plant growth.
In addition to warmer water temperatures and more sunlight that stimulate algal growth from nutrients stored in the lake sediments, algal growth can be stimulated by other factors. Other potential sources of nutrients to the pond include bird waste, fertilizer and septic input from properties within the watershed, and atmospheric deposition. Furthermore, any other processes that alter the water balance of the pond and lead to low summer water levels will exacerbate the problem. Fortunately, the low level of recreational swimming does not likely have any significant impact on lake nutrient concentrations or volume.
The ponds of Fishers are an asset. They are an integral component of our water resources. They are also unique ecosystems, offering great habitat for aquatic, terrestrial and even marine organisms. As others have noted, however, the ponds of Fishers Island are also fragile. As part of my recommendations, which are expanded in the online preliminary report, I urge the Water Company to continue to understand how these ponds function, and to work with the Fishers Island community to ensure that the ponds will have an adequate amount of clean water to support the community and the organisms that rely on them.
Middle Farms Pond November 17 Photo Credit: Jane T. Ahrens
Middle Farms Pond has become contaminated with elevated levels of nitrates, turbidity, bacteria and algae. Although the causes are not yet clear, human activities, including potential septic leeching and fertilizer run-off, as well as boating, fishing and swimming are all potential contributing factors.
The risks are serious. For example, nitrates can cause algae blooms. While not all algae blooms are toxic, some produce a type of toxin called microcystis that can cause serious liver damage under certain conditions.
Fishers Island Water Works Corporation owns the pond and is responsible for monitoring its quality. Under the Fishers Island Water Protection Standards adopted by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in 1997, we are also responsible for monitoring compliance with land use restriction that apply to the surrounding primary watershed.
To start the process of restoring the health of the pond, we are placing it off limits to the public. Various information and warning notices will be posted around the pond.
The absence of human activity will facilitate testing the pond water to identify the causes of contamination and target efforts to eliminate them. We have already sent notices to surrounding landowners, requesting their help in identifying potential sources of contamination in the watershed, particularly on ground sloping toward the pond and any level areas within150 yards of the shore. Fertilizers, pesticides, septic tanks and fuel storage tanks are among the possible hazards. Earlier this year we welded shut an access point where tank trucks were tapping into the pond with potentially contaminated hoses.
Closing Middle Farms Pond to boating will address another threat: the potential introduction of the invasive Zebra mussel. This fingernail-size mussel can attach itself to a boat or paddleboard that is used in another body of water and then used in Middle Farms Pond. There would be no way to eradicate the bivalve from the pond once that happens.
By removing sources of contamination and avoiding a mussel infestation, the pond could have water that is potable with little filtration within a few years. Although we are moving to produce more water from wells, preserving both Middle Farms and Barlow Ponds as back-up reservoirs is an important part of our strategy for assuring ample water supply despite the uncertainties of climate change. During droughts in the 1960s, for example, water was pumped from Middle Farms Pond to Barlow Pond for filtration and distribution into the island’s water mains.
Everyone’s understanding and cooperation with this initiative will be very much appreciated. We know that Middle Farms Pond has been enjoyed by boaters, fishermen and swimmers. Yet, we strongly believe that conserving this natural resource is part of responsible environmental stewardship and in the best interest of the water supply for the entire island community.Please feel free to contact company President, Chris Finan, or Water Superintendent, Chad Mrowka, at 631-788-7251 with any questions.
Please feel free to contact company President, Chris Finan, or Water Superintendent, Chad Mrowka, at 631-788-7251 with any questions.
Fishers Island Water Works Corporation
October 22, 2017
Middle Farms Pond November 17 Photo Credit: Jane T. Ahrens
This report is required to be delivered to all residents of our Water Company in compliance with Federal and State regulations with the exception of a monitoring violation that is discussed within. This report is designed to inform you about the quality water and services we deliver to you every day. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. The Fishers Island Water Works Company and its employees are committed to ensuring that you and your family receive the highest quality water. Please note that the information presented in this report is based on 2013 data.
