Group for the East End to Celebrate EnvironmentalAchievements at Casablanca-Themed Fundraising Benefit

Proceeds to Support the Implementation of the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act 

(Bridgehampton, New York… June 2025) As stewards of the environment on eastern Long Island for more than five decades, Group for the East End (thegroup.org) has been instrumental in some of the most important protections for our land, water, and wildlife. Celebrating one of its most recent achievements – the passing of the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, which was approved by local voters in last November’s election – the Group will host its Casablanca benefit on Saturday, June 8 at 6 p.m. at The Bridge in Bridgehampton. Proceeds from the event will be used to implement this new clean water fund, ensuring homeowners receive tax-free grants to replace their failing septic systems with clean water technology. The fund is expected to generate $4 billion over 35 years for clean water infrastructure throughout Suffolk County.  

“Last fall, Suffolk County voters overwhelmingly cast their vote for a clean water future, and created the most diverse and significant clean water investment fund in county history,” shares Group for the East End president Bob DeLuca. “This $6 billion environmental commitment was only possible through the support and hard work of thousands of dedicated partners, including all of our members, who have supported our work on this issue for more than a decade. Now, we honor both the success of this unprecedented clean water action campaign, alongside the incredible generosity and personal conviction that made it all possible.”

For more than a decade, the Group, working with a broad coalition of clean water advocates, had pressed State and Suffolk County officials to develop and implement a comprehensive wastewater strategy that includes public support for the installation of innovative, nitrogen-reducing septic systems, which are critically necessary to restoring our water quality, and the creation of a stable and recurring revenue source to fund the program over time. Hard work paid off on November 5, 2024 when 72% of Suffolk County voters secured a clean water future as they helped to pass Ballot Proposition 2, the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act.

With a robust water quality protection fund now in place, the Group will focus its efforts on assuring the full and proper use of these valuable funds, getting as many advanced treatment septic systems in the ground as quickly as possible, and maximizing the speed and ease with which those who replace their old septic systems receive the significant grants this new program provides.

Learn more about this initiative at thegroup.org/initiatives/suffolk-county-water-quality-restoration-act.

The annual gala hosted by Stéphane Samuel and Robert M. Rubin of The Bridge will feature a paddle raise led by CK Swett, dinner, dancing, and casino games, not to mention the most spectacular sunset water views on the East End.