Hudson River Water Quality Report: First sampling patrol of 2012 - May 15 through May 20 Of 74 sampling locations: 9 (12%) were
“unacceptable” Compare this with May of 2011 when 59 sample sites (80%) were “unacceptable.” Why the enormous difference? May 2011 was really wet and this May was much drier. Rain enters and overloads sewer systems in a number of ways causing overflows and discharges of raw sewage. We’ll have to prevent stormwater from entering our sewers and we’ll have to repair aging/failing infrastructure to achieve consistent good water quality. John Lipscomb Some Highlights NY Harbor (day 1): I know I just wrote that this patrol was drier…but not day one. It started raining steadily in Newtown Creek but the CSOs hadn’t really gotten going when we sampled there. There is a delay between the start of rain and the start of CSO discharges.
By the time we got to the Gowanus Canal it was another story. We got our highest count of the patrol there (>24196), near a CSO at the entrance to the Canal. Yonkers to Port Ewen (day 2 and 3): Dry weather returns. No samples were “unacceptable.” Nice, the way we like it. Kingston to Hudson/Athens (day 4): Still no rain, almost all “acceptable”. The highest Entero count in Rondout Creek was at the Kingston sewer plant outfall which I sampled at low tide, when the outfall was above and separate from the Creek water. At 365 Entero per 100ml, this sample was second highest in the entire Estuary during this patrol, second only to the Gowanus Canal sample.
Gay’s Point Park to Waterford (day 5): Continued dry weather. Still, two sites were “unacceptable” - one in Albany, the other in Troy – these two fail about 50% of the times we sample. Also, it’s interesting to note the difference between the Hudson Headwaters sample and the Mohawk River sample. The Hudson passed at 11 Entero /100ml and the Mohawk failed at 238/100ml (Federal guidelines recommend against swimming in fresh water with a count over 61/100ml). These two sample sites are only about 300 yards apart at the confluence of the Hudson and the Mohawk at Waterford. The Mohawk fails about twice as often as the Hudson here. So it really does matter where you swim.
May 2012 Sampling Data For River Mile 0 to River Mile 44, the following standards apply: For River Mile 45 north, the following standards apply: To learn more about Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program, and to view historic sampling data, please visit www.riverkeeper.org/water-quality/hudson. View other monthly water quality reports, May 2010 to present View sampling data sorted historically by individual sampling location. © Riverkeeper 2012 |