The wild wild sump: A reflection of the neglect and decay in the town of Riverhead, NY

Living in Riverhead, a town on Long Island that has been mismanaged by the demonic Democrats for far to many years, it is common to lament about the pathetic state of the roads, the complete lack of development in the downtown area (we have an old movie theatre that was supposed to have been renovated years ago, but in spite of the millions poured into it, there is only an empty shell of a building) and the general town supervisor who seems to work for the many (illegal) sand mining operations and flaky real estate crooks who want to make a living off of the largess of the town.  But even in other ways, the town is a dismal failure.  Consider, if you will, the local sump that is adjacent to my property.  Before I describe this horror, let me give the standard Wikipedia definition.

An infiltration basin (also known as a recharge basin or in some areas, a sump), is a type of best management practice (BMP) that is used to manage stormwater runoff, prevent flooding and downstream erosion, and improve water quality in an adjacent river, stream, lake or bay. It is essentially a shallow artificial pond that is designed to infiltrate stormwater though permeable soils into the groundwater aquifer. Infiltration basins do not discharge to a surface water body under most storm conditions, but are designed with overflow structures (pipes, weirs, etc.) that operate during flood conditions.

From the general definition of an infiltration basin, we can derive some definitions of what a sump is not.  It is not a dense patch of forest that is surrounded by a metal fence.  But if you don’t maintain a sump, that is what it quickly becomes.  Here are some of the photos of my next door neighbor, Mr. Sump.

The state of the sump, much like the state of the roads, much like the state of the downtown area, is a direct result of the years of mismanagement by Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale.  This year we can make real change to the town of Riverhead; we can clean this sump once and for all.  Vote for Sean Walter for Town Supervisor!