Prof. Christopher Gobler and his team at SCERP (Stony Brook Southampton Coastal Estuary Research Program) have just released some very interesting data on nitrogen levels in the eastern Great South Bay before and after Sandy and the New Inlet:
The New Inlet Has Brought Nitrogen Levels In Bellport Bay to Near Oceanic Levels
The New Inlet, in short, is flushing the nitrogen from seeping septic tanks and lawn fertilizer out of the bay. Across from Bellport, near The New Inlet, the waters are becoming as clean as the ocean. Much cleaner water will mean a much lower threat of algal blooms such as brown tides, which have been growing in magnitude in terms of size and distribution over the past twenty years as our various waterways became too nitrogenous — lakes, rivers, and bays.