First Hudson River Estuary water quality data of the season is available

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Riverkeeper has updated our website with data from a special April patrol of the Hudson River Estuary. The patrol was timed to capture the impact of wet weather, to support partner research into pharmaceuticals and other wastewater impacts. We saw the results in the data, with many locations failing to meet federal standards for safe swimming. The rain-related contamination of sewage or other fecal contamination contrasts strongly with our sampling from 2016, when dry weather contributed to very good water quality in each case.

One of the most striking results was from the outfall of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Riverkeeper has sampled the upwelling believed to result from the discharge from the treatment plant here for nearly 10 years, and this was one of only two occasions when results exceeded the detection limit of 2,420 Entero cells per 100 mL. We reported the results to the Department of Environmental Conservation.