Bronx River Education

Not a bit to drink… or wade in, for that matter

In tranquility, it amazes me to reflect upon the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings certain topics bring forth. Fecal coliforms being today’s origin of those feelings

I met with our Pilot Bacteria Monitors today up at Muskrat Cove as they gathered more samples near the offending outfall above Nereid Avenue. Professor JD and KS wanted to share some preliminary findings with me and let me know about the near future studies. It was a beautiful day to walk along the river and discuss fecal coliform.

The good news is the Prof. JD has decided to run  a monitoring program that will cover several sites on the river and use 4 full time student monitors. The bacteria monitoring will be their focus rather than an aside, and special attention will be given to making comparisons between not only sites on the river, but dry days and wet days. This will allow for comparisons between the constant bacteria content of the river and that which is affected by the various CSOs. Hopefully this baseline data, besides helping us build a long term bacteria monitoring program, will serve to show the possible benefits of the storm water retrofits planned by Westchester and the City.

The bad news is why JD thinks this is worth dedicating time and  other resources towards. Basically it comes down to numbers, and in this case the preliminary numbers are high.

According to the EPA,  safe water for contact should be below a mean of  200 fecal coliform colony forming units (CFUs)per 100mL, and never rise above 400 CFUs/100ml. This number, I have learned, is still somewhat  a subject for debate due to the lack of a clear definition of “swimming.” But it is their number at this time. The monitors have come up with a mean level of 184CFUs/100ml at the 174^th St./Starlight Park  site,  which approaches the limit. But at the Muskrat Cove site, the mean so far is an astounding 1650 CFUs/100 ml!  More than 8 times the legal safe water contact  limit. Muskrat Cove beach will not be opening soon. These are preliminary data, still being collected and analyzed, and are meant to inform our  immediate contact with the river, but the numbers are a bit frightening, from my perspective. The actual findings will be reported by  our pilot team very soon.

The samples at Muskrat Cove were taken right near the, as Yonkers calls it, the McLean Avenue Outfall, meaning that the samples would get the full dosage of the illegal connections that flow into the Hillview Reservoir overflow. The level found down river, to my untrained eye, seem to show that some dilution is occurring and until further study, we can assume that the problem is not being made worse inside the border of the Bronx. Small comfort; but comfort none the less.

All officials have been notified of the Mclean Avenue outfall and the illegal hook ups that run through it: EPA, DEC, Westchester Health Department, City of Yonkers, NYS Attorney General. But I wanted to know where it might be coming from so I drove up and into the neighborhood that sits between the reservoir  and the river, to get a feel for what exactly illegal connections come from. I found some large buildings, but mostly it was well kept, nice sized single family homes. Some even had American flags hanging out in front. I wondered; Do any of them know that they may very well be flushing directly into the Bronx River?

DG

1 comment April 16th, 2008

Toilet paper,scuba divers and Muskrats

Not exactly  three things that you normally mention in one sentence. Unfortunately, that is what we saw today in a span of about 30 minutes on the river today.

            As a part of the pilot bacteria monitoring study, KS and I went up to Muskrat Cove to take some samples.  As KS took her samples at the pipe that leads into the river on the right bank just above Nereid avenue, I noticed that the flow from the pipe was stronger than normal and strangely foamy. I sat strangely because the foam dissipated rather quickly and the bubbles burst almost violently.  I crawled out on a tree to photograph the foam more closely. Just as I turned off the camera, a muskrat came swimming right at me from up river before diving and disappearing. Despite the suffix part of their name, they are cute, otter like animals.

            I didn’t have time to smile about my encounter however, because when I looked down into the flow from the pipe, I realized that suddenly a good bit of the foam was not breaking up. There was a simple, terrible explanation: It was toilet paper. It became obvious that the flow  coming from the pipe which it is believed comes from McClean Ave. in Yonkers, was discharging raw sewage into the Bronx River. KS took several samples so we should have an answer beyond the visual in about a week. I have no doubt.

            This pipe, an overflow for reservoir water, I believe coming from the Hillview Reservoir, is expected to have some flow even in dry  weather. The illegal connections were a part of a mult-million dollar lawsuit a couple of years ago by the city of NY . Yonkers has since eliminated 50 or 60 illegal connections to this pipe, but apparently some remain. Some time ago, the city of Yonkers contracted Malcom Pirnie, inc, for consultation in the matter in an effort to complete the remediation. Just what work they have done is yet to be seen. Judging by what was flowing from that pipe,  remediation still needs to be done. Video and pictures soon to follow.

            Act II Scene I  At 174^th St.,  we were not greeted by  homeless people or geese. Instead we found 3 NYPD frogmen preparing for a dive in the Bronx River. They were “ Looking for stuff,” as a part of an “ongoing investigation.”   Sorry, but I didn’t ask anymore questions. The ideas popped just into my head.

1 comment March 17th, 2008

2/28/08

KS, JD, AM and myself went to 3 different sites on the Bronx River today to take water samples. KS and JD are helping us to begin a bacteria monitoring program that we hope  to soon make a part of our regular Stewards Program. They will take the samples  up to SUNY Purchase for incubation. At this point, they are working as much on the method as they are on the actual testing. Any ideas from our monitors would be gladly accepted.

            As a part of her study, KS has chosen three sites that she will regularly monitor for the next few months. Those sites are: Muskrat Cove,  to get a reading on the river as it enters the Bronx, Mitsubishi Riverwalk, to monitor a midway point, And 174^th street, which is just South of the CSO at Drew Gardens. We have a few pictures. See Brave KS as she samples around the ice at Mitsubishi. We’ll make sure to share the data as it comes in.

DG

Add comment February 28th, 2008