Parts of LI Sound receive failing grade for water quality

Parts of the Long Island Sound got a failing grade after the first-ever report card on the body of water's health was released Monday.
Scientists from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science looked at water quality and the ecosystem. The western part of the sound, near the New York City, did not fare very well. They gave it an F.
"The western narrow is where the Long Island Sound comes to a very shallow and very constricted area. It doesn't exchange well with the East River. It just flushes back and forth," said Dr. William Dennison, of the University of Maryland.
The group says while more work needs to be done, Hempstead Harbor is coming back strong. The part of the sound had been closed off to shellfishing for four decades, but is now safe.
"What the report card...translates that complicated science into information that the public and policy makers can understand and really do something with," said Amanda Bassow, of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation.