Water Quality Archives

Hudson 7 Source Waters Map

By Dan Shapley on Nov 05, 2018

Seven communities and over 100,000 people rely on drinking water from the Hudson River. Riverkeeper helped these seven communities — the City of Poughkeepsie, Village of Rhinebeck and the Towns of Esopus, Hyde Park, Lloyd, Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck — organize as the Hudson River Drinking […] More

Can you imagine a day without water?

By Riverkeeper on Oct 10, 2018

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Did you know that only 2.5% of the world's water is freshwater? A tiny fraction of that freshwater — far less than 1% — is found in our rivers. And yet, so much depends on that water. More

Data analysis: Utica’s CSOs and the Mohawk River

By Dan Shapley on Sep 14, 2018

Riverkeeper sampling sites and the locations of CSOs in Utica.

Riverkeeper’s Mohawk River water quality monitoring program, in partnership with SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Poly and community scientists from the region, is in its fourth year. With that data in hand, we’ve analyzed how Utica’s Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs) affect water quality in the Mohawk River. […] More

The threat to water quality from NY Harbor storm surge barriers

By Dan Shapley on Aug 30, 2018

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Plastic pollution during combined sewer overflows in the Harlem River in July 2018.

Riverkeeper and our partners sampled more than 410 locations in the Hudson River Watershed in August. Where we observed rain prior to sampling this month, the data show its uneven impact. More

Hiking to the Headwaters: Lake Tear of the Clouds

By Riverkeeper on Aug 29, 2018

The highest source of the Hudson River sits 1,000 feet below the summit of Mount Marcy, the highest peak in New York State located in the Adirondack Mountains. A year ago, two of us here at Riverkeeper decided to go see it. More

Two years later, Newburgh’s water supply remains just as vulnerable

By Dan Shapley on Aug 20, 2018

newburgh-washington-lake-filtered-notfiltered

Two years ago this summer, Riverkeeper responded to the revelation of toxic PFAS contamination in the City of Newburgh’s primary reservoir by calling for a comprehensive plan for protecting the drinking water at its source. Two years on, despite some important planning at both the […] More

Swimming in NYC: The data behind “A beach for Manhattan”

By Dan Shapley on Aug 08, 2018

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Swimmers in NYC - not at a public beach. (Photo courtesy Paul Bastin)

On Monday, the New York Times Editorial Board used its megaphone to promote the idea of opening A beach for Manhattan. Riverkeeper assisted the Times in its research by interpreting some of our key data from 10-plus years of monitoring water quality in the Hudson […] More

Summer thunderstorms trigger massive sewage overflows: Water Quality Update

By Dan Shapley on Jul 29, 2018

Riverkeeper and our partners sampled more than 410 locations in the Hudson River Watershed in July. The data reinforced what Sewage Pollution Right to Know Alerts made plain: When it rains, sewage overflows in high volumes from multiple communities. In the week of July 22, […] More

Special sampling in the Wallkill River Watershed

By Dan Shapley on Jul 12, 2018

Sebastian Pillitteri, Riverkeeper's Water Quality Associate, takes measurements in Rutgers Creek. (Photo by Dan Shapley / Riverkeeper)

In 2017, in response to community concerns about water quality in the Wallkill River, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) began an intensive two-year watershed-scale study of the river and its tributaries. To help the DEC fill data gaps in eight tributaries, […] More

NYS Legislature Passes Drug Take Back Act

By Dan Shapley on Jun 20, 2018

In a critical vote to improve water quality, the New York State Assembly and Senate both passed the Drug Take Back Act today (unanimously), the final day of the 2018 Legislative Session. The Act now goes to Governor Andrew Cuomo for his signature. The Department […] More