About the Western Bays Resiliency Initiative

The Western Bays are the waters between the neighborhoods of East Rockaway, Oceanside, Island Park, Baldwin, Rockville Centre, Freeport and Long Beach Barrier Island. The Western Bays were once a productive fishing area. Much of the excess nitrogen in the Bay is attributed to wastewater treatment facilities that discharge directly into the Bays. Together with the low mixing capabilities of the Bays, this discharge over time has led to loss of fishing capacity and degradation of the water quality and the marsh ecosystem. Due to the degraded marshlands, storm resiliency diminished as experienced during Hurricane Sandy.

To improve water quality of the Western Bays and improve storm resiliency, Nassau County is pursuing the following Projects under the Western Bays Resiliency Initiative — the Bay Park Conveyance Project, the Long Beach Consolidation Project, and Point Lookout Sewer Feasibility Study.