Report: Hudson River most affected by sewage overflows

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Take action today! Contact the Governor and your State Assemblymember and tell them to make good on the Governor’s pledge to put $2.5 billion toward the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. The budget deadline is April 1!

No river in New York State has been subjected to greater volumes of sewage overflows than the Hudson River, according a report released today by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The report highlights the importance of the Governor and Assembly supporting the New York State Senate’s proposal to put $2.5 billion in the state budget for water infrastructure. While the Governor has verbally committed to this historic doubling of the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, Riverkeeper and our allies are urging state leaders to make the commitment real by the April 1 budget deadline.

The DEC’s annual report on the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act covers the state’s last complete fiscal year, the 12-month period ending March 31, 2018. The report found:

• 2,300 sewage discharges were likely to have reached water, and they affected at least 200 different water bodies.
• 207 treatment facilities or collection systems reported at least one discharge
• 6.25 billion gallons of sewage was reported discharged, and is recognized as an underestimate
• More than 2 billion gallons of sewage were released into the Hudson River, and no waterway in the state received more reported discharges.
• The Mohawk River, the Hudson’s largest tributary, received over 500 million gallons.

With 2.5 billion gallons of sewage being released to the Hudson River Watershed, we’re asking the Governor and Legislature to commit to another $2.5 billion to reduce this scourge.