What is an "illicit discharge"?

An illicit discharge is any discharge to a road drain, pond or creek that is not composed entirely of stormwater.

An illicit discharge could be:

·        someone dumping or dropping a pollutant (automobile fluids, paint etc) into a road drain or a creek;

·        an illicit connection into the conveyance system, like a sewer pipe connected to a road drain; or

·        a pipe that bypasses the septic system and directly discharges into a creek or bay.

Click here for more information on what is an illicit discharge.

If you see something you think may be an illicit discharge, you should call the town’s Stormwater Officer at 749-0772.

I’ve heard about Stormwater Best Management Practices? What does that mean and why should I care?

Stormwater can pick up pollution as it runs across the ground and roads, and carries those pollutants to our creeks, bays and the underground aquifer which is our drinking water. The pollutions harms the shellfish, can contribute to brown tide, and hurt your health.

There are steps each person can take to prevent this pollution. For more information, click here.

The Town of Shelter Island and Village of Dering Harbor are preparing a Stormwater Management Study. So far, the Inventory of the current issues, policies and laws has been prepared. The next steps are to come up with solutions for problems, together with a way to prioritize and find funding to implement the solutions.

Click here to take a look at the Inventory.

A number of town officials meet regularly to discuss stormwater issues (also referred to as MS4 pursuant to the federal/state legislation that requires the town to deal with stormwater issues).