Hudson River Water Quality Report. August and September Data Summary, year to date

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1 Hudson River Water Quality Report August and September 2011 I'm writing this in Waterford, in the middle of the October sampling run. Sorry to get this overview to you so late but, as you ll read in this report, it's been a busy year for our water quality team. Better late than never, I hope. John Lipscomb Riverkeeper patrol boat "R. Ian Fletcher" Data Summary, year to date Of 74 sampling locations from NY Harbor to Waterford and the Mohawk River: May: 59 (80%) were Unacceptable June: 13 (17.5 %) were Unacceptable July: 6 (8.1%) were Unacceptable August: 19 (25.7 %) were Unacceptable September: 14 (18.9%) were Unacceptable CSO at 125 th Street, NYC, discharging during the sewage treatment plant fire, July 21, The green Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sign is there to tell you not to swim here, but by the time you re close enough to read it, you re toast.

2 On 7/21 and 7/22 (just after our July sampling run) there was a 200 million gallon release caused by the fire at the North River sewer plant at 140th Street on the upper west side of Manhattan. Then on 8/11 and 8/12 there was a 2 million gallon release at Ossining when a tree blew down on a sewer main right where it crosses a creek in the village. We sampled during and after both the North River discharge and the Ossining discharge and in both cases the accidental discharges caused LESS contamination than we routinely see during and after regular, normal rainy weather. Here are incident reports with details of those two releases: North River report and Ossining report. August 16 through August 21 Highlights NY Harbor (day 1): Two days before we sampled in NY Harbor it rained 6.4 inches. We found 8 of 15 sample sites had Unacceptable water quality. The rain caused Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) to discharge that resulted in greater general contamination around Manhattan than we measured during the 200 million gallon release during the sewer plant fire. The same story repeats again and again, accidental releases, which get all the media attention, aren t our big problem the chronic sewage releases from CSOs and inadequate sewage infrastructure are. Yonkers to Peekskill (day 2): Now it s been three days since the heavy rain. The Saw Mill River was really contaminated (24,196 Entero per 100/ml) but the rest of this section was in pretty good shape. Bear Mountain to Beacon (day 3): Still mostly dry throughout the area. All sites were Acceptable except the West Point sewage treatment plant outfall (slightly over the line) and the Newburg launch ramp (921 Entero per 100/ml) Unacceptable again. Beacon to Port Ewen (day 4): Still no rain and none of our stations were Unacceptable. Nice. Rondout Creek/Kingston to Athens / Hudson (day 5): There were some heavy, slow moving thunderstorms west of Hudson last evening. So it s not surprising to see that the sample taken at the Kingston waterfront was Unacceptable today. Kingston has a number of Combined Sewer Overflows. Also, the greater Rondout Creek Watershed (measured at the Eddyville dam) was Unacceptable, but Entero counts were lower than at the Kingston waterfront. Hudson / Athens to Waterford (day 6): Dry weather all day but a front was overtaking us and we finally got some heavy rain as we approached the Albany area (rain records show 0.4 inches). Look at the data: all sites were Acceptable until the rain, and then all sites from Albany north, except one, were Unacceptable. It s dramatic to see how fast the water quality goes to hell because of CSOs. The Capitol District just completed a study and plan to deal with CSOs in this area, BUT they are only planning to reduce CSO flow by about 20%. That s NOT GOOD ENOUGH. These photos are all from that afternoon.

3 Huge CSO in Albany A guy in water fishing nearby Another CSO at Troy, one of several A whopper, across the river at Watervliet Family on the shore at Watervli et Several families on shore at Troy August 2011 Sampling Data For River Mile 0 to River Mile 44, the following standards apply:

4 River Enterococcus Site Name Sample Date Mile Count Quality - 1 Gowanus canal August 16, Unacceptable 0.1 The Battery midchannel August 16, Acceptable 2.5 East River midchannel at 23rd St. August 16, Possible Risk 2.6 Newtown Creek- Dutch Kills August 16, Unacceptable 2.7 Newtown Creek- Metropolitan Ave. Bridge August 16, Unacceptable 4 East River at Roosevelt Island August 16, Unacceptable 4.7 Castle Point, NJ August 16, Acceptable 6 Pier 96 Kayak Launch August 16, Possible Risk 7 79th St. midchannel August 16, Acceptable th St. Pier August 16, Possible Risk 8 125th St. WWTP Outfall August 16, Unacceptable 8.1 Harlem River- Willis Ave. Bridge August 16, Unacceptable 12 GW Bridge midchannel August 16, Acceptable 12.1 Harlem River- Washington Ave. Bridge August 16, Unacceptable 14 Dyckman St. Beach August 16, Unacceptable 17.5 Yonkers Wastewater Treatment August 17, Acceptable 18.4 Saw Mill River August 17, Unacceptable 18.5 Yonkers midchannel August 17, Acceptable 25.9 Irvington Beach August 17, Acceptable 26 Piermont Sewage Treatment August 17, Acceptable 26.1 Piermont Pier August 17, Acceptable 27 Tarrytown marina August 17, Acceptable 27.5 Tappan Zee Bridge midchannel August 17, Acceptable 28 Kingsland Point Park and Pocantico River August 17, Acceptable 28.1 Nyack Launch Ramp August 17, Acceptable 34 Ossining Beach August 17, Acceptable 35 Croton Point Beach August 17, Acceptable 35.5 Haverstraw Bay midchannel August 17, Acceptable 38 Furnace Brook August 17, Acceptable 39 Emeline Beach August 17, Acceptable 40 Cedar Pond Brook August 17, Acceptable 40.5 Stony Point midchannel August 17, Acceptable 43 Peekskill Riverfront Green Park August 17, Acceptable 44 Annesville Creek August 17, Acceptable For River Mile 45 north, the following standards apply:

5 River Enterococcus Site Name Sample Date Mile Count Quality 46 Fort Montgomery August 18, Acceptable 52.5 West Point Sewage Treatment August 18, Unacceptable 53.5 Cold Spring Harbor August 18, Acceptable 54 Little Stony Point August 18, Acceptable 60 Newburgh Launch Ramp August 18, Unacceptable 61 Beacon Harbor August 18, Acceptable 66.5 Wappingers Creek August 19, Acceptable 68 Marlboro Landing August 19, Acceptable 75 Poughkeepsie Launch Ramp August 19, Acceptable 77 Poughkeepsie Drinking Water Intake August 19, Acceptable 84.5 Norrie Point midchannel August 19, Acceptable 85 Norrie Point Yacht Basin August 19, Possible Risk 88 Port Ewen Drinking Water Intake August 19, Acceptable 92 Kingston Point Beach August 20, Acceptable 92.1 Kingston Sewage Treatment August 20, Possible Risk 92.2 Kingston Public Dock August 20, Unacceptable 92.3 Eddyville Anchorage August 20, Unacceptable 97 Ulster Landing Beach August 20, Acceptable 99 Tivoli Landing August 20, Acceptable 102 Esopus Creek Entrance August 20, Acceptable Esopus Creek West August 20, Acceptable 103 Malden Launch Ramp August 20, Acceptable Inbocht Bay August 20, Acceptable 113 Catskill Launch Ramp August 20, Acceptable Catskill Creek East End August 20, Acceptable Catskill Creek First Bridge August 20, Acceptable Hudson Launch Ramp August 20, Acceptable 117 Athens Sewage Treatment Plant Outfall August 20, Acceptable Gay's Point Midchannel August 21, Acceptable 124 Coxsackie Waterfront Park August 21, Acceptable 133 Coeymans Landing August 21, Acceptable 137 Castleton- Vlockie Kill August 21, Acceptable 138 Bethlehem Launch Ramp August 21, Acceptable 142 Island Creek/Normans Kill August 21, Unacceptable Dunn Memorial Bridge August 21, Possible Risk 146 Albany Rowing Dock August 21, Unacceptable Congress Street Bridge August 21, Unacceptable Hudson River above Troy Lock August 21, Unacceptable 155 Mohawk River August 21, Unacceptable Hudson above confluence with Mohawk River August 21, Unacceptable

6 September 14 through September 19 Highlights On 8/28 the region got slammed by IRENE and then flooded again by LEE about a week later. We received reports and documentation of numerous sewer plants completely overwhelmed and many overflows from pipes, manhole covers lifting off, you name it. It s safe to say that a massive amount of sewage overflowed during those two storms. We sampled about 2 weeks after IRENE and six days after LEE. Much of the river was still very turbid with sediment from the two storms but it turns out that sewage contamination was nothing out of the ordinary. Contamination was about the same as it was in June, earlier this year (see data summary above). By contrast, contamination was much higher in May, when we sampled during a normal wet spring week. So it may be that the unimaginable amount of rain that fell during the two storms was enough to dilute the sewage that was also released and that the dry weather since LEE was enough to let some sewage related microbes die. NY Harbor (day 1): Dry weather since LEE, so the only Unacceptable station was the one near a CSO at 125 th Street. It should not be flowing in dry weather. Yonkers to Peekskill (day 2): No rain still, until a short shower at the end of the sampling day. There were some unusual results today. The water quality at the beach at Irvington was Unacceptable (464), which is unusual. We have only had 2 Unacceptable samples out of 24 collected at this location since July I can t explain what happened on this day. Also, we found high Entero counts at Furnace Brook (4106), Cedar Pond Brook (2723), Annsville Creek (578) and at the Peekskill waterfront (4352). What s unusual is that the rest of the area was much lower. It s the pattern that is unusual. Bear Mountain to Port Ewen (day 3): Weather still mostly dry, only 0.1 inch of rain two days prior to sampling this section. The only Unacceptable station was the Newburg launch ramp - again (125 Entero per 100/ml). This isn t terribly high, but it s still high, and this is a public access point. So far this year, 4 out of 5 samples taken at the Newburg launch ramp have been Unacceptable. Rondout Creek/Kingston to Inbocht Bay (day 4): Continued dry weather. The only stations in this section that were Unacceptable were the outfall from the Kingston sewage treatment plant (435 Entero per 100/ml) and the sample we took just off the public beach at Kingston Point (which was only a tiny bit over the line at is the Federal guideline in fresh water). The rest of Rondout Creek was Acceptable so it was just the sewer plant this month. Catskill to Waterford (day 5): Still more dry weather. In spite of that, 5 of 17 samples in this section were Unacceptable. That means that a higher percentage of sites in the upper estuary and Capitol District were Unacceptable than in NY Harbor where 1 out of 15 were Unacceptable (and the Harbor includes notorious cesspools like the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek). This month isn t a fluke, between 2006 and 2010, 21% of our samples were Unacceptable in NY Harbor versus 36% in the upper estuary and Capitol region. So maybe we need a sewage plan for the Capitol District that does MORE to reduce sewage pollution in the most frequently contaminated part of the Hudson River Estuary.

7 September 2011 Sampling Data For River Mile 0 to River Mile 44, the following standards apply: River Mile Site Name Sample Date Enterococcus Count Quality - 1 Gowanus canal September 14, Possible Risk 0.1 The Battery midchannel September 14, Acceptable 2.5 East River midchannel at 23rd St. September 14, Acceptable 2.6 Newtown Creek- Dutch Kills September 14, Acceptable 2.7 Newtown Creek- Metropolitan Ave. Bridge September 14, Acceptable 4 East River at Roosevelt Island September 14, Acceptable 4.7 Castle Point, NJ September 14, Acceptable 6 Pier 96 Kayak Launch September 14, Possible Risk 7 79th St. midchannel September 14, Possible Risk th St. Pier September 14, Unacceptable 8 125th St. WWTP Outfall September 14, Acceptable 8.1 Harlem River- Willis Ave. Bridge September 14, Possible Risk 12 GW Bridge midchannel September 14, Acceptable 12.1 Harlem River- Washington Ave. Bridge September 14, Acceptable 14 Dyckman St. Beach September 14, Possible Risk 17.5 Yonkers Wastewater Treatment September 15, Acceptable 18.4 Saw Mill River September 15, Possible Risk 18.5 Yonkers midchannel September 15, Acceptable 25.9 Irvington Beach September 15, Unacceptable 26 Piermont Sewage Treatment September 15, Acceptable 26.1 Piermont Pier September 15, Possible Risk 27 Tarrytown marina September 15, Possible Risk 27.5 Tappan Zee Bridge midchannel September 15, Acceptable 28 Kingsland Point Park and Pocantico River September 15, Acceptable 28.1 Nyack Launch Ramp September 15, Possible Risk 34 Ossining Beach September 15, Acceptable 35 Croton Point Beach September 15, Acceptable 35.5 Haverstraw Bay midchannel September 15, Possible Risk 38 Furnace Brook September 15, Unacceptable 39 Emeline Beach September 15, Possible Risk 40 Cedar Pond Brook September 15, Unacceptable 40.5 Stony Point midchannel September 15, Possible Risk 43 Peekskill Riverfront Green Park September 15, Unacceptable 44 Annesville Creek September 15, Unacceptable

8 For River Mile 45 north, the following standards apply: River Mile Site Name Sample Date Enterococcus Count Quality 46 Fort Montgomery September 17, Possible Risk 52.5 West Point Sewage Treatment September 17, Possible Risk 53.5 Cold Spring Harbor September 17, Possible Risk 54 Little Stony Point September 17, Possible Risk 60 Newburgh Launch Ramp September 17, Unacceptable 61 Beacon Harbor September 17, Possible Risk 66.5 Wappingers Creek September 17, Possible Risk 68 Marlboro Landing September 17, Acceptable 75 Poughkeepsie Launch Ramp September 17, Acceptable 77 Poughkeepsie Drinking Water Intake September 17, Acceptable 84.5 Norrie Point midchannel September 17, Acceptable 85 Norrie Point Yacht Basin September 17, Acceptable 88 Port Ewen Drinking Water Intake September 17, Acceptable 92 Kingston Point Beach September 18, Unacceptable 92.1 Kingston Sewage Treatment September 18, Unacceptable 92.2 Kingston Public Dock September 18, Acceptable 92.3 Eddyville Anchorage September 18, Acceptable 97 Ulster Landing Beach September 18, Acceptable 99 Tivoli Landing September 18, Acceptable 102 Esopus Creek Entrance September 18, Possible Risk Esopus Creek West September 18, Possible Risk 103 Malden Launch Ramp September 18, Possible Risk Inbocht Bay September 18, Acceptable 113 Catskill Launch Ramp September 19, Acceptable Catskill Creek East End September 19, Acceptable Catskill Creek First Bridge September 19, Acceptable Hudson Launch Ramp September 19, Possible Risk 117 Athens Sewage Treatment Plant Outfall September 19, Acceptable Gay's Point Midchannel September 19, Acceptable 124 Coxsackie Waterfront Park September 19, Acceptable 133 Coeymans Landing September 19, Unacceptable 137 Castleton- Vlockie Kill September 19, Acceptable 138 Bethlehem Launch Ramp September 19, Acceptable 142 Island Creek/Normans Kill September 19, Unacceptable Dunn Memorial Bridge September 19, Unacceptable 146 Albany Rowing Dock September 19, Possible Risk Congress Street Bridge September 19, Possible Risk

9 152.5 Hudson River above Troy Lock September 19, Unacceptable 155 Mohawk River September 19, Unacceptable Hudson above confluence with Mohawk River September 19, Acceptable To learn more about Riverkeeper s Water Quality Program, and to view historic sampling data, please visit View previous months water quality report (June - July 2011). View sampling data sorted historically by individual sampling location. View archived monthly water quality reports from May 2010 to the present.