Category Archives: water pollution

Large oil spill in NY harbor delays port opening

Posted on November 2, 2012 by juliepullen

A significant oil spill in NY harbor is keeping the critical Arthur Kill closed indefinitely.  The Coast Guard reports that the diesel leak from a fuel terminal was contained November 1.  The rupture occurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy … Continue reading →

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NYC’s Ultimate Locavore Food: Blue Crab

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Philip Orton

How often do you eat Tuna per month?  Well, let me introduce you to a seafood that has dramatically lower pollution levels in its flesh, and comes straight from our local waters:  The humble blue crab.  Not only is it far better … Continue reading →

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What Effect Would Stopping the Flow Have on Ironman?

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Philip Orton

Westchester County officials say that repairs on a broken pipe are almost complete and they hope to stop discharging sewage into the Hudson River by Friday afternoon.  So, what effect would shutting it down have on pathogen concentrations near George … Continue reading →

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Tracing the Sewage Plume and Impact on the Iron Man Swim

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Philip Orton

There’s nothing that says summer like a raw sewage leak into one of New York City’s major rivers. There was another sewage spill in the Hudson, this time due to a broken pipe and resulting diversion into the Hudson at … Continue reading →

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Do Property Taxes Pay Back Wastewater Infrastructure Costs?

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Philip Orton

Today, while river advocacy groups are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act with Swimmable Action Day, I’m reflecting on the economics of these efforts to reduce sewage pollution. Often when I read anything truly descriptive about what … Continue reading →

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Garbage Transfer Stations and Delicate Ecosystems

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Philip Orton

[This is an Op-Ed that was originally published in text-only form yesterday in the weekly free newspaper Our Town, serving Manhattan’s Upper East Side] Mayor Bloomberg has been pushing to rebuild and reopen a shuttered marine garbage transfer station (MTS) … Continue reading →

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Pathogen Forecast for the Latest Hudson Sewage Spill

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Philip Orton

There was another sewage spill in the Hudson, from a broken sewage pipe at Ossining, New York.  Fortunately, this time the volume was about one hundred times less than the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant spill back in July.  Nevertheless, … Continue reading →

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Where Is The Sewage Spill Plume Going?

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Philip Orton

Linked below is today’s updated sewage plume hindcast/forecast video based on the Stevens Institute of Technology NYHOPS ocean model and created using NOAA’s GNOME particle tracking tool.  The simulation runs from 5:15 PM, Wednesday July 20th to 12:00 AM, Saturday … Continue reading →

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Bike Touring the Aftermath of the Riverbank Sewage Meltdown

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Philip Orton

You likely heard the news, that a fire at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, which lies beneath Riverbank State Park, disabled the facility Wednesday afternoon.  As a result, the city cannot treat sewage from roughly half of Manhattan, and … Continue reading →

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