Image- A woman long distance swimming in the Hudsen River
Summary- A recent study shows that one fifth of the testing done to the Hudsen have come back showing the water to be unsuitable for recreation. The study says that 21 percent of testing showed unsafe levels of bacteria, most likely coming from faulty sewage plants or overflowing rain. It also states that most of the contamination is from the rivers and streams that flow into the river, and many of the unsafe samples come from areas of the river between New York and Albany.
Despite the multitude of residents in New York, the majority of contaminentts come from the Albany area this is most likely because of the narrow stretch of river that the sewage is entering from, or that Albany's treatment plants do not disinfect the sewage and that area of the Hudsen is "Sewage-laden"
New York does have several problems with its sewage, like when it rains and their treatment plants are unable to handle the volume, and the unsafe samples rise from 9 to 32 percent.
As a result, Riverkeepers are recommending having weekly testings and enforcing cleanings.
A deputy commisioner with the New York City Department of Enviormental Protection, Carter Strickland, says that the city has spent nearly $2 billion adressing the problem which includes run-off from storms and sewage in the same pipes. He also states the solutions can include seperating sewage and storm water, or building special roofs and porous parking lots.
In the meantime he is working to release the water testing results as soon as possible.
Opinion- To know that a common recreation place like the Hudsen is polluted enough to cause this much of a problem is scary. You start to think of lakes or rivers that you might frequently sim or boat in, and whether or not they have the same kind of contaminents. I think more people should be working to take care of all of the pollution we have, so we can be able to swim and do what we want without worrying about the bacteria swimming with us
Questions-What can we do to help clean up the rivers?
How many rivers and lakes are contaminated like this, and how can we find out?
What other actions are being taken to handle these problems?
This artical seems to be very scary and happy at the same time. I for one believe it is a good idea to always check the Hudson River for pollutents. This is important because it is a main route for ships and it widely known to people across America. If we didnt keep this clean, it would ruin the chances of the Untied States becoming a more ecofriendly place.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to question: what can we do to help clean up the rivers?
Answer: i think we could stop leaving our trash everywhere. if we dot litter, then it wont go in our rivers and pollute the waters. also, we could not use it as waste desposal. We could use plants for that. all in all, we need to stop polluting our waters with trash, waste and chemicals.
I agree with Emily and think this article is absolutely disgusting, and should embarrass us as a nation. The fact that a portion of the water in this river is so polluted that recreation isn't safe is sickening. So much money is being contributed to helping the problem, but instead of attacking the problem at hand, I think we should attack it from the source. I remember when I was a little girl and we took a cruise on the Med. Sea, the water was so clean and beautiful, and safe to swim in. I think it is such a shame that the people of New York have to live with knowing it isn't safe to swim in some of their beloved river.
ReplyDeletehttp://web.bryant.edu/~langlois/ecology/hudsonpollution.html
This link goes into more detail about pollution in the Hudson. It gives facts such as the Hudson is the 33rd most polluted river in the united states, and that the river has been declared a superfund site.