Initial Findings

The Water Quality Testing Program aims to characterize the complex water quality conditions in the Hudson River Estuary. Our initial findings from 2006 to 2007 show overall water quality to be highly variable depending on both site location and time sampled. This study is ongoing and as the data increase, a better picture of problem locations throughout the estuary will emerge. But initial samples indicate that, in general, ambient water quality conditions in the northern (Peekskill to Yonkers) and southern (Yonkers to New York City Battery) portions of the estuary are relatively similar and during periods of dry weather, midchannel conditions are generally acceptable from an overall environmental perspective.

However, the initial findings also highlight a number of concerns:

• Conditions in the midchannel of the Hudson often differ substantially from near-shore conditions;
• There are times and places, particularly near-shore after wet weather events, where counts of sewage indicating bacteria far exceed federal and state standards for primary contact recreation;
• In 2007, 21 percent of samples collected north of New York City had counts of sewage indicating bacteria that exceeded the federal single sample guideline for primary contact;
• In the waterways surrounding New York City, 32 percent of the samples exceeded the federal single sample guidelines for primary contact;
• There are specific locations (i.e. Piermont Pier and Newtown Creek in Brooklyn) that have chronically poor water quality conditions;
• Severe wet weather conditions, even if short-term, can render much of the estuary unsafe for activities such as swimming and kayaking.

The data shows that even days after localized storm events, levels of pathogens can remain above the allowable federal guidelines for swimming.

The data shows that 21 of 27 stations sampled experienced single day measurements that indicate an increased risk of illness from swimming or other direct contact with the river water on that day. Even at sites where conditions were generally acceptable, or that had seasonally acceptable conditions (according to the geometric mean), there was still poor water quality on individual days, particularly after rain events.

Finally, the data shows that there are areas that experience chronically poor conditions. While these initial findings are cause for caution, they also suggest that these problems observed are localized issues. Therefore, targeted investigations and sound management decisions may help to yield large positive impacts on local water quality in the areas of concern.