NEW YORK—The North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem went offline at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, after a four-alarm fire raged through the engine room. Untreated sewage began spewing into the Hudson River and has continued to do so as of Thursday evening.
The plant treats an average 120 million gallons of wastewater daily, which means a sizable spill has ensued.
The Department of Environmental Conservation, hard at work to get the plant back online, could not give an estimate as to when the discharge would be stopped. The agency’s staff worked to mitigate the environmental damage by performing some pumping out of two sewers in Harlem. They also applied chlorine to some sewer outfalls in the plant’s vicinity to kill bacteria.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has warned kayakers and all other water recreationalists to stay out of the Hudson River, the East River from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to the Verrazano Bridge, the Harlem River, and the Kill Van Kull to the Goethals Bridge. There is no immediate impact to permitted beaches, the department said, and they will remain open.
“Based on the modeling, it could be anywhere from 48 hours or beyond where there could be an impact on public beaches, if we’re not able to get the plant up and running and deal with the backlog of wastewater that’s there,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway, according to NY1.
The Department of Health is continuing to monitor the water around the permitted beaches. Riverbank State Park, located atop the plant, was evacuated during the fire and remains closed.
The plant treats an average 120 million gallons of wastewater daily, which means a sizable spill has ensued.
The Department of Environmental Conservation, hard at work to get the plant back online, could not give an estimate as to when the discharge would be stopped. The agency’s staff worked to mitigate the environmental damage by performing some pumping out of two sewers in Harlem. They also applied chlorine to some sewer outfalls in the plant’s vicinity to kill bacteria.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has warned kayakers and all other water recreationalists to stay out of the Hudson River, the East River from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to the Verrazano Bridge, the Harlem River, and the Kill Van Kull to the Goethals Bridge. There is no immediate impact to permitted beaches, the department said, and they will remain open.
“Based on the modeling, it could be anywhere from 48 hours or beyond where there could be an impact on public beaches, if we’re not able to get the plant up and running and deal with the backlog of wastewater that’s there,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway, according to NY1.
The Department of Health is continuing to monitor the water around the permitted beaches. Riverbank State Park, located atop the plant, was evacuated during the fire and remains closed.
