Yonkers raw sewage discharge 8/28/12 - sampling results and public notification

A SPDES outfall immediately south of the Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club is discharging raw sewage 24/7. It was brought to Riverkeeper’s attention in July by members of the public.

Riverkeeper sampled for Enterococcus on Thursday 7/26/12 at 1015 and again on Tuesday 8/28/12 at 1305.

See reports and sample results below. Most recent at top.

View of the Yonkers Rowing Club and outfall. The outfall is under the bulkhead on the right side of the photo directly below the green SPDES sign.

On 8/28 there was sewage smell and the discharge was considerably harder from the outfall than at first visit on 7/26. Sampled directly from discharge at 1305.

Federal guideline for primary contact in fresh water: Enterococcus not to exceed 61 per 100ml.

Processed sample using 3 dilution levels to increase measurable range:
#1 (no dilution) result: >2420 Entero/100ml
#2 (1/10 dilution) result: >24,196 Entero/100ml
#3 (1/20 dilution) result: >48,392 Entero/100ml

IDEXX trays, #1 through #3, left to right.

On 7/26 we visited Rowing Club with Bob Walters, clear sewage smell in the air. Sampled discharge directly from pipe at low tide just south of the Rowing Club property under the public pier where it entered a shallow trench leading into the river. Discharge volume was relatively low.

Federal guideline for primary contact in fresh water: Enterococcus not to exceed 61 per 100ml.

Sampled at 1015. Processed on sample only.

#1 (no dilution) result: >2420 Entero/100ml

Follow-Up on Watchdog Report: Barge Discharge

Some weeks ago we received a watchdog email regarding a discharging barge off of Yonkers.

We contacted the marine unit at the DEC, who followed up with the barge operator and got the following response from one of their engineers:

"It would appear, from the pictures, that ballast water is being discharged from the vessel. The area of the barge where the apparent discharge is taking place is the area where the ballast tank sea valve is located. If you can enlarge the area directly above, on deck, you will see the port ballast pump. 

"The vessel is double hulled and the water that is apparently being discharged is clean, segregated ballast water. From the properties of the photos, they appear to have been taken on January 8, 2012. Based on that, we believe the ballast water was originally taken on the barge several days earlier at Bay ridge anchorage, New York harbor." 

It's always better to be safe than sorry, so we very much appreciate that the watchdog took the time to contact us so that we could look into this issue.

As always, we encourage members of the public to act as citizen watchdogs for Riverkeeper. If you observe what you think may be illegal water pollution, please take photos and call us at 1-800-21-RIVER. You can also follow these instructions to learn how to best report pollution to us!

Read the original story here.