HomeMy Public PortalAbout20130509REPORT CITES LARGE RELEASE OF SEWAGE FROM HURRICANE SANDY.pdfHurricane Sandy Sent Billions of Gallons of Sewage Into Waterways - NYTimes.corn Pagel of
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April 30, 2013
Report Cites Large Release of Sewag
From Hurricane Sandy
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
Over lo billion gallons of raw and partly treated sewage gushed into waterways and bubbled
up onto streets and into homes as a result of Hurricane Sandy — enough to cover Central
Park in a 41 -foot -high pile of sludge, a nonprofit research group said in a report released on
Tuesday.
The group, Climate Central, said about 94 percent of the sewage flow -ed into rivers, canals
and bays in New York and New Jersey, the states hit hardest by the storm that came ashore
six months ago. In New York City alone, 1. 6 billion gallons spilled into area waterways.
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and strengthening storms, a result of climate change, could increase the threat of similar
spills in the future. She urged an overhaul of the region's wastewater infrastructure.
"Our sewage infrastructure isn't designed to handle this type of storm surge," Dr. Kenward
said.
I lurricane Sandy exposed serious shortcomings in the region's infrastructure. Dunes were
breached, and subway lines and tunnels were flooded. After the storm, gasoline was often
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The region's wastewater treatment facilities, almost all of which are in low-lying areas near
bodies of water, proved to be particularly vulnerable.
To remain operational, treatment facilities must continuously cycle water, bringing in
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surge swamped motors ana snortea out electriFal equipmeni in some I, ...
and forcing sewage to back up and leak. Other facilities were simply overwhelmed by the
volume of water coming through the system.
The Climate Central report, which is accompanied by an interactivefound that about
one-third of the overflow — nearly 3.45 billion gallons — was untreated sewage. The rest was
partly treated, meaning it ,t to some extent and was perhaps chlorinated.
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tfurricane Sandy Sent Billions of Gallons of Sewage Into Waterways - NYTimes.corn Page 2 of 3
The group collected data provided by government agencies and plant operators from eight
states affected by Hurricane Sandy, as well as from the District of Columbia.
In New York, the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant on Long Island was probably the hardest
hit, according to the report. As much as 2.2 billion gallons of partly treated sewage poured
into the Rockaway Channel until the plant was fully brought online nearly two months after
the late -October storm, the report said. Over a billion gallons of untreated sewage flowed
into the Hudson River from the Yonkers Joint Wastewater Treatment plant, in Westchester
County,
Michael Martino, a spokesman for the Nassau County Department of Public Works, said the
Bay Park plant began processing and partially treating sew -age ".Nrithin 4o hours after it shut
down and was fully compliant with regulations by mid-December. On average, Mr. Martino
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Officials plan to spend another $400 million to $800 million to improve defenses for
In the majority of cases, the report said, storm surge was responsible for the damage. But in
Washington, it was heavy rainfall that overwhelmed one treatment plant, causing 475
million gallons of contaminated runoff and untreated sewage to flow into the Anacostia
River.
Tbe damage has run into the billions of dollars. In New York, Gov.Andrew M. Cuornoinitially
estimated that about si.1 billion would be needed to repair treatment plants.
The environmental impact has been more difficult to evaluate. Currents and tides most likely
flushed out much of the sewage in local waterways, experts say, though some regions
imposed bans on shellfish and issued boil -water alerts in the immediate aftermath of the
storm.
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changing, it is unclear what can be done to eliminate the dangers, Dr. Kenward said.
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Hurricane Sandy Sent Bons of Gallons of Sewage Into Water -ways - NYTimes.com Page 3 of 3
"These facilities do have to be close to the %vater," she said, "and they are inherently always
going to be vulnerable to coastal flooding."
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