Instruments will help analyze water flows in unique high-marsh ecosystem
The next phase of the Crab Meadow Watershed hydrology study will get underway this week with the installation of instruments to help analyze water flows, primarily focusing on the 680-acre core protected parkland area, the largest remaining high marsh ecosystem on the north shore of Long Island.
The vendor the Town hired to conduct the study, GEI Consultants of Huntington Station, will be installing piezometers at various points in the watershed on October 15 and 16. The instrumentation will be installed at the Henry Ingraham Nature Preserve, the Jerome Ambro Memorial Wetlands Preserve, the Fuchs Pond Preserve, the Makamah Nature Preserve, Geisslers Beach and Crab Meadow Beach and Golf Course.
Piezometers are sections of PVC pipe that are drilled into specific locations and capped. Stream gauges and tidal gauges will follow later. The instruments will collect data on water pressure, stream flow and water height. These will be followed by the installation of surface elevation tables to determine elevation changes in the watershed and catalogue sedimentation build-up or loss in the marsh through a partnership with Brooklyn College, which will monitor them.
The study is being funded by a $58,000 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. The grant covers performing the study to determine how water flows through the system and developing a watershed stewardship plan.
“This is an important next step in developing a plan to preserve one of Huntington’s natural treasures,” Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “Knowing how the system works will help the Town and the Crab Meadow Watershed Advisory Committee develop a meaningful action plan.”
“The effort to preserve the watershed is bringing together scientific data and residents’ input,” said Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who helped create the advisory committee. “I am pleased with the extent to which the community has embraced this initiative and is actively participating.”
GEI is working on the stewardship plan with the Crab Meadow Watershed Advisory Committee and with residents who are engaged on subcommittees to assist the Town in preserving and protecting this extraordinary natural coastal habitat. Background information and site data are being compiled and community is being gathered to help determine improvement projects and preservation efforts.
As an early step, the Crab Meadow Committee worked with Cornell Cooperative Extension to develop a brochure, poster and website narrative to inform the public about the Crab Meadow Watershed and project. The Committee held two meetings to educate the public and obtain their input. The first, in February 2014 informed the public of the project scope, stewardship area importance, need for the study and plan, and steps to follow to develop the plan. It initiated a public input process.
The second, in June 2014, included an overview of GEI’s preliminary watershed modelling and presentations by Committee members on correlated research being conducted. Break-out sessions on the stewardship plan topics (Land Use; Habitat, Plants and Wildlife; Infrastructure, Restoration and Historic Resources; Community Involvement and Education; Access and Recreation; and Water Resources and Water Quality) allowed community members to express concerns, provide information on issues and challenges, and begin to frame goals and strategies.
Follow-up subcommittee work on the data generated by community input has focused on prioritization, goal refinement, and implementation recommendations (responsibility/timing-short, moderate, long-term or ongoing).
The plan will identify natural and man-made features and determine the extent of needed improvements. It will also detail the habitats for rare bird species, including the piping plover, least tern and clapper rail, as well as finfish, shellfish and crustaceans that make their home within the watershed.