Excess nutrient pollutants are the primary cause of poor lake water quality, including toxic algal blooms, excessive weed growth and decreased clarity. More than 30% of the lake’s nutrient pollutants (phosphorous and nitrogen) originate from our septic systems.
Ideally, appropriate soil for a septic field will have 18 inches of loamy topsoil; unfortunately, there is virtually no land in the RBL district that fits that description. Even if older septic fields were originally functioning well, by now the soil’s binding capacity for phosphorous is saturated and it is leaking into the lake. Making matters worse, at least half of RBL lakefront homes don’t have fields - they were built with seepage pits or cesspools.
In 2016, the Town of Putnam Valley passed a law mandating that all homes in the Roaring Brook Lake District pump out their septic tanks every five years. Starting in 2017, district residents saw septic trucks winding their way around the lake multiple times a week. Our Lake Manager, A.J. Reyes, was impressed by the positive impact of that surge of septic pumping on the quality of our lake.
The Fund for RBL regularly asks the Town to provide information about compliance with the pumping law. Currently, We about 20 homes out of about 300 in the district are not in compliance. The initial fine can be as much as $500; subsequent fines can rise to $1,500.
Our research indicates that pumping tanks every three years is considered “best practice” and would be even more advantageous to our community, especially given that our septic fields drain into our lake. According to the NYS Department of Health, “A septic tank should be pumped out every two to three years.”
As a starting point, we encourage RBL residents to pump at least at the required five year interval and to encourage their neighbors to do so as well. If homeowners can afford it, and, especially if their home is right on the lake, we hope they will consider pumping every three years.
In August 2024, we held an information session about new septic technology that removes most of the phosphorus in wastewater. If widely adopted, that would greatly reduce the nutrients that contribute to harmful algal blooms. To view the video of that event, click here. We are seeking grants to help build a fund to defray some of the cost of septic replacement.
