The Hudson River is not as dirty as you might think, according to research by the environmental organization Riverkeeper and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Since 2006, Doctors Gregory O’Mullan, Andrew Juhl, and Ray Sambrotto—all researchers with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory—have tested the waters of the Hudson River and monitored levels of contamination. The team currently takes monthly samples from about 70 different sites on the river, from the New York Harbor up to Troy.
Although certain sites on the river are unacceptable due to sewage contamination, the water quality of the Hudson now, as compared to the quality before the Clean Water Act of 1972, is “much, much better,” Juhl said. “It used to be, essentially, an open sewer.”
The team’s main task is to gather comprehensive data on the Hudson’s water and make it readily available to the public at www.riverkeeper.org. While New York City does test the water of the Hudson and of New York Harbor, methods used are often not thorough, Sambrotto explained, so gaps in data can occur. Results frequently take months to reach the public.
According to Juhl, because of improvement in water quality, the river is being more widely used for recreation. But the data provided by the city is broadly averaged over time and area, the scientists explained, and is unhelpful for those hoping to swim in the Hudson. For example, if an individual wants to swim in one part of the river on a specific day, knowing the water quality of the surrounding area during the season prior is irrelevant.
What the Riverkeeper-Columbia team does is gather and present information to people in a way “comparable to how they use the resource,” Juhl explained. The team gathers data on smaller areas of water and over shorter intervals of time. The project does not receive any government funding.
The team’s research shows that certain spots along the Hudson, such as Newtown Creek in Brooklyn, are persistently unacceptable in their levels of contamination. But contrary to popular belief, most locations are usually safe. One major factor is weather, since rain increases contaminants and can make some places unsuitable for contact.
“The state is starting to become a lot more active in sampling the river,” Sambrotto said. But until the city develops and implements a thorough system of testing water and publishing results, the collaborative research team will be “the only comprehensive [water-quality] sampling program in the Hudson,” he said.
Juhl commended the team’s “optimistic” start, but said its aims are expansive.
“We need to come up with a new management strategy that will last for the next few decades,” he said.
