Bans On Hudson Swimming And Boating May Last Through Weekend After Ossining Sewer Main Break
OSSINING, NY (CBSNewYork) -- The Westchester County Department of Health is warning people to avoid direct contact with the Hudson River following a sewer main break in Ossining.
1010 WINS' Al Jones reports: No Swimming In The Hudson
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An estimated 1.5 million gallons of sewage was discharging into Killbrook Creek which is about a quarter-mile from the Hudson. Crews in Ossining managed stopped the sewage flow around 4:30 p.m. but the damage was already done.
Health officials say there is no swimming, kayaking or boating in the Hudson near Ossining and that also applies to Rockland County. The bans are likely to remain in effect through Monday.
"Too bad, though. Such a beautiful, exquisite day," Sharon Tvery of Yonkers told CBS 2's Lou Young.
"We walked all the way around so we could do that and now no swimming," Ella Reilly-Adams of Park Slope told Young.
A large tree fell about 40 to 50 feet down a steep ravine and shattered a 36-inch sewer main that snakes along the Killbrook Creek that feeds into the Hudson.
Officials say this is a difficult fix and excavators in the muddy ravine are moving boulders and clearing a path for heavy equipment.
"We get the equipment in there, the heavy equipment in order to deal with this huge tree that was on the pipe, and we brought up a piece of heavy equipment from downstream. It probably took at least seven hours to get here," Richard Leins, Ossining Village Manager, told Young.
Ossining Mayor Bill Hanauer says it could take a while.
"It's very difficult in that ravine to do heavy work so it depends on how long it takes to get all of the equipment into place and how difficult it is to remove the tree," said Hanauer.
The sewage is being partially treated with chlorine before it reaches the river.
WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports: Pay Attention To County Health Warnings
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Health officials are monitoring the water but until further notice though, contact with the Hudson is not advised.
Croton Point Park Beach and Philipse Manor Beach are also closed.
This is the second sewage spill into the Hudson this summer.
In July, a fire and explosion at a water treatment facility in Harlem caused raw sewage to spew into the Hudson for days.
It forced officials to close down beaches in New York City and prohibit swimming and boating in the Hudson for nearly a week.
WCBS 880's Catherine Cioffi On The Response From Riverkeeper
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For more information about the latest spill in Ossining, click here.
Please share your thoughts below...
Bad news on a beautiful day along the hudson river: Croton point park closed to swimmers, along with nearby philpes manor beach,
=everyone= in the area being advised to avoid contact with hudson river water contaminated with raw sewage. A summer bummer.
The sewage that flowed down this creek was only a fraction of the volume that came out of the Manhattan west side plant when it malfunctioned a while back but this spill, keep in mind, is happening in a section of river more heavily used by reacreational boaters and swimmers and will curtail borth activities in Westcchester and Rockland counties through the weekend. Were in Ossining Lou Young CBS 2 News.
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