The Hudson River's sediments contain a significant array of pollutants, accumulated over decades from industrial waste discharges, sewage treatment plants, and urban runoff. The overall water quality in the river has improved significantly since the 1990s, however. The most discussed pollution of the Hudson River is General Electric's contamination of the river with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1947 and 1977. This pollution caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who ate fish from the river or drank the water. In response to this contamination, activists protested in various ways. A group of fishermen formed an organization in 1966 that would later become Riverkeeper, the first member of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Pollution
Hudson River
Hudson River | Pollution
Yes, General Electric's contamination of the river with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Yes, with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) The Hudson River's sediments contain a significant array of pollutants, accumulated over decades from industrial waste discharges, sewage treatment plants, and urban runoff. Yes, ediments contain a significant array of pollutants, accumulated over decades from industrial waste discharges, sewage treatment plants, and urban runoff.
where is the oakwood cemetery?
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northeastern Troy, New York, United States
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and what is oakwood cemetery?
user
It is a nonsectarian rural cemetery.
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mention a few landmarks at that cemetery?
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The monolithic obelisk and Celtic Cross
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name a few famous interments over there?
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E. Harold Cluett, John Paine Cushman, John Dean Dickinson, etc
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who is the third person?
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He was a U.S. Representative from New York.
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when was the cemetery made?
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1848
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what are some famous buildings from troy?
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Frear's Troy Cash Bazaar,Corinthian Courthouse, Troy Public Library,etc.
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describe something about the roads of troy?
user
U.S. Route 4 runs north-south through the city. New York Route 7 passes through, east-west through the city, with a bridge west across the Hudson River, as does New York Route 2.
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what are some events that happen at some period?
user
In 1707,  Dirck Van der Heyden purchased a farm of , which in 1787 was laid out as a village.
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what is troy to new york?
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It is a city in the U.S. state of New York.
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any rivers flowing through troy?
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Hudson River
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how is the salinity of the river?
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The salt line of the river varies from the north in Poughkeepsie to the south at Battery Park in New York City, though it usually lies near Newburgh
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is it facing the issue of pollution?
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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has listed various portions of the Hudson as having impaired water quality due to PCBs, cadmium, and other toxic compounds. Hudson River tributaries with impaired water quality (not necessarily the same pollutants as the Hudson main stem) are Mohawk River, Dwaas Kill, Schuyler Creek, Saw Mill River, Esopus Creek, Hoosic River, Quaker Creek, and Batten Kill. Many lakes in the Hudson drainage basin are also listed. Other ongoing pollution problems affecting the river include: accidental sewage discharges, urban runoff, heavy metals, furans, dioxin, pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Numerous factories that once lined the Hudson River poured garbage and industrial waste directly into the river.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Types of pollution and other environmental impacts
Around 1971, the village's Sewer and Water Superintendent assured that the pollution reports were exaggerated, and that he and other residents would swim by a beach nearby, however Dominick Pirone, an ecologist and former director of the Hudson River Fishermen's Association (now Riverkeeper) was quoted as saying: "You can tell what color cars they are painting on a given day by what color the river is."
Pollution of the Hudson River | Types of pollution and other environmental impacts
Pollution of the Hudson River is largely due to dumping of PCBs by General Electric from 1947 to 1977. GE dumped an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River during these years. The PCBs came from the company's two capacitor manufacturing plants at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, New York. This pollution caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river or drink the water. In 1984, EPA declared a 200-mile (320 km) stretch of the river, from Hudson Falls to New York City, to be a Superfund site requiring cleanup.
Polychlorinated biphenyl | New York
The Hudson River's sediments contain a significant array of pollutants, accumulated over decades from industrial waste discharges, sewage treatment plants, and urban runoff. The overall water quality in the river has improved significantly since the 1990s, however. The most discussed pollution of the Hudson River is General Electric's contamination of the river with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1947 and 1977. This pollution caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who ate fish from the river or drank the water. In response to this contamination, activists protested in various ways. A group of fishermen formed an organization in 1966 that would later become Riverkeeper, the first member of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Hudson River | Pollution
GE fought a media and political battle to avoid cleaning up the river and countered that dredging the river would actually stir up PCBs. In 2002, EPA ordered GE to clean up a stretch of the Hudson River it had contaminated.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Opposition
Between 1947 and 1977, General Electric polluted the Hudson River by discharging polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), causing a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river or drink the water. Other kinds of pollution, including mercury contamination and cities discharging untreated sewage, have also caused problems in the river. In response to this contamination, activists protested in various ways; for instance, musician Pete Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and the Clearwater Festival to draw attention to the problem. Environmental activism led to passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972, as well as federal government designation of the river as a Superfund site in 1984.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Introduction
In 2016, a humpback whale was spotted swimming in the Hudson River west of 63rd Street in Manhattan. Whales have become a more common sight in the river recently. This is because of a combination of cleanup of waste in the river as well as conservation of wildlife that creates a hospitable habitat for the whales. Whales have been spotted all the way up to the George Washington Bridge. The whales are especially prominent during feeding season in the fall. State and federal officials are warning kayakers and boaters to slow down and stay at least from any whales in the area in order to not distress or hurt the whales.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Water quality improvement
New York Harbor, between the Narrows and the George Washington Bridge, has a mix of fresh and ocean water, mixed by wind and tides to create an increasing gradient of salinity from the river's top to its bottom. This varies with season, weather, variation of water circulation, and other factors; snowmelt at winter's end increases the freshwater flow downstream. The salt line of the river varies from the north in Poughkeepsie to the south at Battery Park in New York City, though it usually lies near Newburgh.
Hudson River | Salinity
Musician Pete Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and the Clearwater Festival to draw attention to the problem. Environmental activism led to passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972 as well as federal government designation of the river as a Superfund site in 1984. Other kinds of pollution, including mercury contamination and discharges of partially-treated sewage, have also caused problems. Extensive remediation actions on the river began in the 1970s with the implementation of wastewater discharge permits and consequent control or reduction of wastewater discharges, and sediment removal operations, which have continued into the 21st century.
Hudson River | Pollution
All Hudson River point source dischargers were required to obtain permits issued by NYSDEC. The restrictions in these permits led to an overall reduction in pollutant loadings to the river, as factories, power plants and municipalities installed or improved their wastewater treatment systems or made other plant modifications to reduce pollution. Among the prominent sewage plant upgrades was the completion of the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Manhattan, where 150 million gallons per day of untreated sewage was discharged to the river until the plant opened in 1986. However, persistent pollutants such as PCBs and heavy metals, that had been discharged prior to implementation of the new permit requirements, remained in the sediments of the river.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Cleanup
The Department of Health cites mercury, PCBs, dioxin, and cadmium as the chemicals impacting fish in these areas.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Effects
Other sources of pollution, including mercury contamination and sewage dumping, have also contributed to problems in the Hudson River watershed.
General Electric | Pollution of the Hudson River
Below Onondaga Lake, the Seneca River is moderately polluted by industrial and domestic waste, including high levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxin and ammonia. The New York State Department of Health advises limited consumption of fish from the lower river. Parts of the river are infested by non-native zebra mussels, which have depleted the level of dissolved oxygen, impacting fish populations. The population density of mussels in one particular section of the river below Cross Lake is considered among the highest in North America.
Seneca River (New York) | Ecology and environmental issues
Extensive remediation actions on the river began in the 1970s with the implementation of wastewater discharge permits and consequent reduction of wastewater discharges, and sediment removal operations, which have continued into the 21st century.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Introduction
GE heavily contaminated the Hudson River with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1947 and 1977. This pollution caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river or drink the water. In response to the contamination, activists protested in various ways. Musician Pete Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and the Clearwater Festival to draw attention to the problem. In 1983, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared a 200-mile (320 km) stretch of the river, from Hudson Falls to New York City, to be a Superfund site requiring cleanup. This Superfund site is considered to be one of the largest in the nation.
General Electric | Pollution of the Hudson River
During the peak of the hatting industry, mercury pollution transported via the river's current into the Housatonic River, and into the Long Island Sound. The mercury pollution was detrimental to the river's life and the surrounding ecosystems, and didn't start to fully rebound until the construction of the sewage treatment plant. Many species of fish can now be found, and kayak ramps have been installed downriver from Danbury.
Still River (Housatonic River tributary) | Pollution
The Clearwater and the Clearwater Festival have worked to draw attention to the problem of pollution of the Hudson River. Pollution in the river has included mercury contamination and sewage dumping, but the most discussed issue has been General Electric's contamination of the river with Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) between 1947 and 1977. This pollution caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river or drink the water. The activism of folk singer Pete Seeger and the Clearwater led to the area being designated as one of the superfund sites.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater | Pollution of the Hudson River
under the brand names Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1016. The highest concentration of PCBs is found in the Thompson Island Pool. Another noted polluter was General Motors, which operated the North Tarrytown Assembly in North Tarrytown, New York (now known as Sleepy Hollow). The plant was in operation from 1896 to 1996. The plant used about 1 million gallons of water per day, which was returned to the river as waste. The plant's industrial waste (primarily lead chromate and other painting, cleaning, and soldering chemicals) would be emptied directly into the river. Domestic waste would be processed through the village's sewage treatment plant.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Types of pollution and other environmental impacts
Environmental issues in New York City are affected by the city's size, density, abundant public transportation infrastructure, and location at the mouth of the Hudson River. New York's population density has environmental pros and cons. It facilitates the highest mass transit use in the United States, but also concentrates pollution. Gasoline consumption in the city is at the rate the national average was in the 1920s, and greenhouse gas emissions are a fraction of the national average, at 7.1 metric tons per person per year, below San Francisco, at 11.2 metric tons, and the national average, at 24.5 metric tons.
Environmental issues in New York City | Introduction
Much of the lower river suffered severe pollution during the 19th and 20th centuries because of the development. Although the health of the river has improved due to enactment of the 1972 Clean Water Act and other environmental legislation, and the decline of industry along the river, it still suffers from substantial degradation of water quality. The sediment at the mouth of the river near Newark Bay remains contaminated by such pollutants as dioxin. The dioxin was generated principally by the Diamond Shamrock Chemical Plant in Newark, as a waste product resulting from the production of the agent orange defoliation chemical used during the Vietnam War.
Passaic River | Pollution
The oxygen-producing phytoplankton have also been inhibited by the relatively recent invasion of the zebra mussel species. The Hudson River estuary is the site of wetlands from New York City all the way up to Troy. It has one of the largest concentrations of freshwater wetlands in the Northeast. Even though the river can be considered brackish further south, 80 percent of the wetlands are outside the influence of the saltwater coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Currently, the river has about acres of wetlands, and rising sea levels due to climate change are expected to lead to an expansion of that area.
Hudson River | Habitats
In the 21st century, environmental groups including the Bronx River Alliance proposed to return the river to its original state as a clean waterway. The river became a favorite project of U.S. Representative José Serrano, who secured US$14.6 million in federal funding to support the rehabilitation of the waterway, into which some Westchester towns continued to discharge raw sewage intermittently, as sanitary sewer overflows, as late as 2006. Under a November 28, 2006 agreement, the municipalities of Scarsdale, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Greenburgh agreed to stop dumping sewage in the Bronx River by May 1, 2007. Urban runoff pollution continues to be a serious problem for the river.
Bronx River | Pollution
The Still River is polluted with mercury nitrate from the hat industry in Danbury, which has flowed into the Housatonic River and into Long Island Sound. The Housatonic River is polluted with Monsanto chemicals called Aroclor, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. From "circa" 1932 until 1977, the river received PCBs pollution discharges from the General Electric plant at Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Fairfield County, Connecticut | Pollution
IBM maintained a Poughkeepsie mainframe unit, and newer housing and office developments were built near there as well. Commuting from Poughkeepsie to New York City also increased. Developers also looked to build on the property of the old GM plant. Around the time of the last factories' closing, environmental efforts to clean up the river progressed. For example, GE participated in cleanup efforts to remove PCBs from the site of its old factory in Hudson Falls. The cleanup is part of an EPA Superfund site, and consists of dredging a 40-mile stretch of the river the Troy Dam to Fort Edward in order to remove the probable carcinogen from the ecosystem.
Hudson River | 20th and 21st centuries
In the 1950s and 1960s, the city expanded again, tapping the east and west branches of the Delaware River and other tributaries to create the newest and largest of its three systems.
Environmental issues in New York City | Water supply
These factories produced transformers, capacitors, and electric motors, which used PCBs as dielectric and coolant fluid. This pollution was not comprehensively assessed until the 1970s. By that time, the largest remaining factories in the area were owned by General Electric, which became primarily responsible for cleaning the Hudson River. Between approximately 1947 and 1977, GE released between of PCBs into the river. The PCBs came from the company's two capacitor manufacturing plants at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, New York. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979. The bulk of the PCBs in the river were manufactured by Monsanto Co.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Types of pollution and other environmental impacts
In 1980, Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) agreed to drop its 17-year fight to build a pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility on Storm King Mountain, after a legal challenge by the non-profit environmental organization Scenic Hudson. The actions of local citizen organizations that led to the Con Ed decision spurred the creation of Riverkeeper, a non-profit environmental organization that grew into a global umbrella organization, the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Cleanup
Under the previous scheme trucks and tractor-trailers were used for 84% of the trash. Passage of the new legislation was delayed by opponents in a Manhattan neighborhood who protested the use of a marine transfer station in the Hudson River Park. Environmentalists and social activists argued the plan promoted environmental justice because no one borough or neighborhood would bear a disproportionate burden under the proposal, and they therefore supported it.
Environmental issues in New York City | Garbage disposal
The plant's industrial waste (primarily lead chromate and other painting, cleaning, and soldering chemicals) would be emptied directly into the river. Domestic waste would be processed through the village's sewage treatment plant. Around 1971, the village's Sewer and Water Superintendent assured that the pollution reports were exaggerated, and that he and other residents would swim by a beach nearby, however Dominick Pirone, an ecologist and former director of the Hudson River Fishermen's Association (now Riverkeeper) was quoted as saying: "You can tell what color cars they are painting on a given day by what color the river is."
North Tarrytown Assembly | Introduction
In 1966, Pete Seeger and Toshi Seeger founded Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental education organization and an actual boat (a sloop), that promotes awareness of the river and its history. Clearwater gained national recognition for its activism starting in the 1970s to force a clean-up of PCB contamination of the Hudson caused by GE and other companies. Other specific Hudson watershed problems with which Clearwater is concerned are development pressures in the southern half of the Hudson Valley, pesticide runoff, the Manhattan west side waterfront, Indian Point nuclear reactors, and New York/New Jersey Harbor dredge spoil disposal. In 1972 Congress passed the Clean Water Act and established a nationwide discharge permit system for all surface waters.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Cleanup
Since the late 20th century, much debate has arisen about dredging the Hudson River in the area bordering the east side of the Village of Schuylerville. The General Electric (GE) transformer plant dumped PCBs upstream in Hudson Falls from 1947 to 1977. GE and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have come to an agreement in which GE is responsible for dredging a stretch of the river. The first part of the dredging will end in Schuylerville. In a press release from the EPA dated February 8, 2007, the EPA announced that the dredging would not start until 2009 because of various project complications.
Schuylerville, New York | Environmental concerns
In 1976 NYSDEC banned all fishing in the Upper Hudson because of health concerns with PCBs. It also issued advisories restricting the consumption of fish caught within a long segment of the Hudson River from Hudson Falls to Troy. The New York State Department of Health recommends eating no fish caught from the South Glens Falls Dam to the Federal Dam at Troy. Women under 50 and children under 15 are not advised to eat any fish caught south of the Palmer Falls Dam in Corinth, while others are advised to eat anywhere from one to four meals per month of Hudson River fish, depending on species and location caught.
Pollution of the Hudson River | Effects
Prior to the meeting, Boyle had rediscovered two forgotten laws about pollution of navigable waters in the United States, and announced his research findings at the meeting. One of those laws was the Federal Refuse Act of 1899 which the HRFA used as the basis for their litigation in federal court, resulting in a string of victories and substantial fines charged against water polluters. In 1983, HRFA established the Riverkeeper program, and in 1986, merged the two into a single group officially named Riverkeeper. Boyle's research and articles were crucial to the litigation brought in 1965 by Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference (Scenic Hudson) against Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), New York's primary electric utility company in the lawsuit titled "Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v.
Robert H. Boyle | Riverkeeper, conservationist, environmentalist
The river has a number of environmental issues. Most of the pollution comes from the last 3.7 miles of the river located primarily in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This has been due to fecal coliform, lack of riparian zones, and one dam in disrepair. The fecal problem can be linked to two sources: manured farmland, and sewage leakage in commercial Greenfield.
Green River (Deerfield River tributary) | Environmental issues
It is believed to add more pollution to the Hudson than any other single tributary. Unusually for a river, the Saw Mill's waters have consistently had a slightly alkaline pH, suggesting it has not been as affected by acid rain as other Hudson tributaries. In 1951, a state Department of Health survey reported pH between 7.25 and 9.1. Four decades later, another study found pH readings rising steadily from 7.59 in Chappaqua to 8.24 in Yonkers. Similarly, a 2007 Manhattan College study done for the New York State Water Resources Institute found a median low of 7.36 in Chappaqua and a median high of 7.81 near Torre Road in Yonkers, with a drop to 7.67 at the tunnel, for a total median for the river of 7.59.
Saw Mill River | Hydrology
A former reservoir used by the city of New Rochelle has likewise been converted into county-run Pocantico Lake Park. While the river runs predominantly through those parks and suburban land, it is still one of the most polluted tributaries of the Hudson.
Pocantico River | Introduction
Allegations that the waterway has been polluted by the City of Rye were made in 2015, by the non-profit organization Save the Sound. The group claims the municipality violated the EPA Clean Water Act. Expansion of the airport has raised concerns over adverse environmental impacts on the Blind Brook watershed and water quality. A community advocacy group called the Citizens for a Responsible County Airport count the Sierra Club Lower Hudson and Federated Conservationists of Westchester as supporters; they have raised safety concerns about the stormwater runoff. They are especially alarmed about PFASs discovered in groundwater tests between the Airport and the Kensico watershed.
Blind Brook watershed | Controversy
The Hudson Valley has long been considered the birthplace of the modern American environmental movement. In the 1960s a small group of scientists, fishermen and concerned citizens led by Robert H. Boyle, author of "The Hudson River, A Natural and Unnatural History" and a senior writer at "Sports Illustrated", were determined to reverse the decline of the then-polluted Hudson River by confronting the polluters through advocacy and citizen law enforcement. Riverkeeper grew out of "a blue-collar coalition of commercial and recreational fishermen" who organized to reclaim the Hudson River from polluters. While Riverkeeper aids national and international networks guard local waterways, their grassroots actions are unique.
Riverkeeper | Preface
Clearwater has gained national recognition for its activism starting in the 1970s to force a clean-up of the PCB contamination caused by industrial manufacturing by General Electric and other companies on the river's edge. Other specific Hudson watershed issues with which Clearwater is concerned are development pressures in the southern half of the Hudson Valley, pesticide runoff, the Manhattan west side waterfront, Indian Point nuclear reactors, and New York/New Jersey Harbor dredge spoil disposal. Clearwater played a key role in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to compel one of the Hudson River's biggest polluters to begin removing toxic PCBs from the water and restoring one of the most polluted portions of the river.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater | Recognition
Throughout most of the history of New York City, and New Amsterdam before it, the East River has been the receptacle for the city's garbage and sewage. "Night men" who collected "night soil" from outdoor privies would dump their loads into the river, and even after the construction of the Croton Aqueduct (1842) and then the New Croton Aqueduct (1890) gave rise to indoor plumbing, the waste that was flushed away into the sewers, where it mixed with ground runoff, ran directly into the river, untreated. The sewers terminated at the slips where ships docked, until the waste began to build up, preventing dockage, after which the outfalls were moved to the end of the piers.
East River | Ecosystem collapse, pollution and health
The city is also a leader in the construction of energy-efficient green office buildings, including the Hearst Tower among others. New York City is supplied with drinking water by the protected Catskill Mountains watershed. As a result of the watershed's integrity and undisturbed natural water filtration process, New York is one of only five major cities in the United States with drinking water pure enough not to require purification by water treatment plants.
Environmental issues in New York City | Population density in New York City
The Oswego River was listed as a Great Lakes Areas of Concern in The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada until it was formally delisted on July 21, 2006.
Oswego River (New York) | Pollution
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the river became a natural sewer into which industrial waste was poured every day. An early mill on the industrialized river was the Lorillard Snuff Mill, preserved in the grounds of the New York Botanical Garden. With the decline of manufacturing in the area, the river continued to receive water pollution from the communities that lined its banks. In December 1948, flow of the Bronx River was changed to eliminate a curve in its course in Bronxville, to create land in the old riverbed on which to construct an addition to Lawrence Hospital. During the excavations a large sand bar was uncovered where sand had accumulated at the bend over hundreds of years and made a sandy beach.
Bronx River | Pollution
Oyster beds were once pervasive in the saltwater portion, but are now reduced through pollution and exploitation.
Hudson River | Invertebrates
Many of the city's environmental assets are related to geography and a long tradition of environmental stewardship in the mountain ranges north of the city. Because the watershed is in one of the largest protected wilderness areas in the United States, the natural water filtration process remains intact. As a result, New York is one of only five major cities in the United States with drinking water pure enough to require only chlorination to ensure its purity at the tap under normal conditions. However, all groundwater entering New York City's distribution system is treated with chlorine, fluoride, food-grade phosphoric acid, and, in some cases, sodium hydroxide.
Environmental issues in New York City | Water supply
In New York State there are a multitude of water issues. In 2016 there was a harmful algal bloom (HABs). There are a multitude of bodies of water that are being affected by this for example, Chautauqua Lake was reported with (HABs) as well as a high toxin report. In Cattaraugus County the Allegheny Reservoir* was confirmed with algal blooms but no toxins. There are many more than 50 affected by (HABs). In 1984, the "State Acid Deposition Control Act" (SADCA) required the reduction of SO emissions from existing sources and further NOx emission controls on new sources in New York State." Issues other causing and or helping the acid rain continue is power plants and automobiles.
Environmental issues in New York | Water
Much of the city's housing stock is old, and lead paint is an ongoing public health issue. Some parts of the city are also at risk if current global warming patterns continue and sea levels rise. The city is home to several thriving non-native species of plants and animals. Populations of wild South American monk parakeets, also known as the Quaker parrot, live in Greenwood Cemetery, Marine Park, Bensonhurst, and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, and in the East Bronx. A 2014 paper estimated the rat population of New York City proper to be about 2 million, or one for every four people.
Environmental issues in New York City | Other issues
The Delaware River has been attached to areas of high pollution. The Delaware River in 2012 was named the 5th most polluted river in the United States, explained by PennEnvironment and Environment New Jersey. The activist groups claim that there is about 7–10 million pounds of toxic chemicals flowing through the waterways due to dumping by DuPont Chambers Works. PennEnviornment also claims that the pollutants in the river can cause birth defects, infertility among women, and have been linked to cancer. In 2015, the EPA saw the Delaware River as a concern for mass pollution especially in the Greater Philadelphia and Chester, Pennsylvania area.
Delaware River | Pollution
In Cleveland, pollution was a demoralizing embarrassment to the citizenry. As described in “Fables of the Cuyahoga: Reconstructing a History of Environmental Protection:” "On June 22, 1969, just before noon, an oil slick and assorted debris under a railroad trestle on the Cuyahoga River caught fire...The fire attracted national media attention, including stories in Time, and National Geographic...The image of a river ablaze was seared into the nation’s emerging environmental consciousness". As the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved ahead on pollution control, the Attorney General of the United States, John N. Mitchell gave a press conference December 18, 1970: “As in the case of other government departments and agencies, EPA refers civil and criminal suits to the Department of Justice, which determines whether there is a base for prosecution and of course, if we find it so, we proceed with court action…And today, I would like to announce that we are filing suit this morning against the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company.
Robert Jones (Ohio lawyer) | United States Attorney
A new kind of pollution entered the lower Saw Mill in 2003 when a Yonkers sugar refinery spilled hydrochloric acid into the river. Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro brought criminal environmental charges against American Sugar Refining, the plant owner, which was forced to pay a $20,000 fine; make a $100,000 donation to Riverkeeper, a regional environmental organization that focuses on the Hudson and its tributaries; and give of sugar to Westchester Food-PATCH, a local nonprofit that supplies food to other nonprofits. Riverkeeper passed the money it received along to the Saw Mill River Coalition for local projects in Yonkers. In 2008, Groundwork Hudson Valley, the coordinator of the Saw Mill River Coalition, received a three-year, $889,183 U.S.
Saw Mill River | 2000s
The Yangtze is the only river contributing more plastic.
Indus River | Pollution
A portion of the slurry wall (approximately half of what Daniel Libeskind originally wanted to preserve), originally designed to hold back the Hudson River, will be maintained in the Museum.
World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition | "Reflecting Absence"
In the fall of 2010, the New York City Department of Environment Protection began releasing turbid water from the Ashokan Reservoir via a waste channel which feeds into Ulster County's Esopus Creek. The Esopus Creek became contaminated with turbid water causing major problems to local farmers and residents as well as potentially damaging the aquatic ecosystem. This action by the agency which oversees the watershed feeding New York City's drinking water drew the attention of environmental groups and Ulster County residents, as well as that of County Executive Hein and many other local leaders. On Tuesday January 12, 2010, after 97 days of contaminated releases into the Esopus Creek, County Executive Hein announced Ulster County's intentions to file a lawsuit against New York City DEP.
Michael P. Hein | Clash with New York City officials
A number of streams and lakes in the watershed have been impaired as a result of acid rain. Elevated levels of mercury have led to restrictions on the consumption of fish in some areas. In August 2005, the Black River was contaminated by a spill from a manure lagoon on Marks Dairy Farm (a concentrated animal feeding operation near Lowville) when a retaining wall gave way, allowing the contents of a waste holding pond to spill. About of pollution flowed into the river. An estimated 280,000 to 375,000 fish were killed. As of August 3, 2006 a settlement has been reached and Marks Dairy Farm, originator of the spill, was ordered to pay $2.2 million.
Black River (New York) | Environmental issues
On the Hudson, Kennedy brought a series of lawsuits against municipalities, including New York City, to properly treat sewage, and against industries, including, Consolidated Edison, General Electric and Exxon, to stop discharging pollution and to clean up legacy contamination. In 1995, Kennedy advocated for repeal of the anti-environmental legislation during the 104th Congress. In 1997, Kennedy worked with John Cronin to write "The Riverkeepers", a history of the early Riverkeepers and a primer for the Waterkeeper movement. Drawing on his experience investigating and prosecuting polluters on behalf of the Waterkeepers, Kennedy has written extensively about environmental law enforcement.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Riverkeeper
The environmental impact is eroding the ornamental facades, but it also messes with the sensitivity of an ecosystem like the Adirondack Mountains because the acid rains impacts the adequate soil buffering capacity to counter the acids deposited to it.
Environmental issues in New York | Water
The hatmaking fur-removal process was based on the use of mercury nitrate. The waste caused serious water pollution as the hat manufacturers dumped it into the Still River throughout the late 19th century and into the 1940s. This toxic product flowed into the Housatonic River and Long Island Sound, affecting water quality and various fish and other organisms. Field studies conducted in the Still River basin in the 21st century have detected the continuing presence of high levels of mercury in the river sediments and nearby soils.
Danbury, Connecticut | Pollution
Tidal flow occurs as far north as Troy, over 150 miles away. The salt front (dilute salt water) can reach Poughkeepsie in drought conditions and is present in the lower reaches of the Raritan River for most of the year.
Marine life of New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary | Introduction
Prior to the passage of the federal Clean Air Act of 1970 and other local and state regulations in the late 60s, New York City suffered severe smog, with several instances of major smog events like the 1966 New York City smog.
Environmental issues in New York City | Air pollution
The Department of Sanitation, which has 1,500 trucks of its 2,200-vehicle fleet on the streets each day, is working with truck manufacturers to introduce gas-electric hybrid garbage trucks. The Department switched to using low-sulfur fuel in 2001 and uses corn-based ethanol in 500 of its 1,500 light-duty trucks. Air pollution is an ongoing political issue in neighborhoods that contain bus depots.
Environmental issues in New York City | Emissions management
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the river suffered from severe pollution problems because of the presence of heavy industry and population centers in its watershed. The Quinnipiac was the subject of the first ever pollution control measure in the state of Connecticut. In 1886, the state legislature passed a measure prohibiting the City of Meriden from discharging raw sewage into the river. In 1891, the act resulted in the building of state's second sewage treatment plant. Nevertheless, by 1914, the State Board of Health reported that the major fish life had largely disappeared from its mouth. The pollution has been somewhat abated by the passage of the Connecticut Clean Water Act of 1967, and by the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, which provided the legal authority to take measures to clean up the river's watershed.
Quinnipiac River | Ecology and conservation
The debate over dredging the Hudson River created tension within the community from the mid- to late 1990s to about 2003. The debate was heated for some time, with some residents skeptical as to whether dredging will make the problem better or worse. This is said to be the largest Superfund project in the United States.
Schuylerville, New York | Environmental concerns
The Cuyahoga River, at times during the 20th century, was one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. The reach from Akron to Cleveland was devoid of fish. A 1968 Kent State University symposium described one section of the river: From below Lower Harvard Bridge to Newburgh and South Shore Railroad Bridge, the channel becomes wider and deeper and the level is controlled by Lake Erie. Downstream of the railroad bridge to the harbor, the depth is held constant by dredging, and the width is maintained by piling along both banks. The surface is covered with the brown oily film observed upstream as far as the Southerly Plant effluent.
Cuyahoga River | Environmental cleanup
Whales have become a more common site in the river recently. This is because of a combination of cleanup of waste in the river as well as conservation of wildlife that creates a hospitable habitat for the whales. Whales have been spotted all the way up to the George Washington Bridge. The whales are especially prominent during feeding season in the fall. State and federal officials are warning kayakers and boaters to slow down and stay at least 100 feet from any whales in the area in order to not distress or hurt the whales.
History of the Hudson River | Contemporary
However, it is unclear as to whether the state will actually use this money for clean-up efforts. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has issued notices banning commercial fishing and advising the general public that fish caught in the tidal Passaic River (from Dundee Dam to the mouth at Newark Bay) should not be eaten. In April 2014, EPA announced a $1.7 billion plan to remove 4.3 million cubic yards of toxic mud from the bottom of lower eight miles of the river. It is considered the one of the most polluted stretches of water in the nation and one of the biggest clean-ups project ever undertaken.
Passaic River | Pollution
Ottinger was key to the political support structure of HRFA's initial growth. He and others at this meeting heard from fishermen plagued by buyer disdain for Hudson River fish, as well as local factory and construction workers who reported personal observations of pollutant discharges by their employers. Their first target was Penn Central Railroad, which for years released petroleum products into the Croton River, a tributary of the Hudson. HRFA notified the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Attorney by written letters and phone calls to enforce the Refuse Act, but were ignored. In 1968, HRFA and Congressman Ottinger sued Penn Central, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Secretary of the Army.
Riverkeeper | Citizen environmental enforcement
New Yorkers are collectively responsible for one percent of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions though comprising 2.7% of the nation's population.
Environmental issues in New York City | Transportation
Scenic Hudson has helped establish and advance numerous environmental initiatives, including the Hudson River Estuary Program, the New York State Coastal Management Program, the Hudson River Valley Greenway, the Clean Water Act, the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act and the National Heritage Area Designation, and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, a National Estuarine Research Reserve, created and managed in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scenic Hudson is currently working with other environmental organizations to facilitate the removal of polychlorinated biphenyl materials from the Hudson River.
Scenic Hudson | Public policy
One of the sectors in the Clean Water Act explains how conditions of the river should be stable enough for human fishing and swimming. Even though the river has had success with the cleanup of pollution, the Delaware River still does not meet that standard of swimmable or fishable conditions in the Philadelphia/ Chester region.
Delaware River | Pollution
Carey. He was succeeded by Robert F. Flacke, who was previously the chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency.
Peter A. A. Berle | N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation
Mercury nitrate was discharged to the river by the hatting industry from circa 1860 through the first half of the 1900s. The hat factories used the chemical in the felt making process to remove animal fur from pelts. During this time, levels of mercury were found to be 5-10 ppm with extremes up to 100 ppm. These levels were about 500 times higher than background levels. Although the hatting industry was the main cause of mercury pollution, there were other industries that contributed as well. The P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company was a fur removal company sited on the Still River.
Still River (Housatonic River tributary) | Pollution
Petitioner: Entergy Corporation is an energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail electric distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates both nuclear and fossil fuel power plants generating an aggregated 30,000 megawatts of electrical capacity. Indian Point Energy Center is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation operating a three-unit nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York, the facility at issue in this case. Respondent: Riverkeeper is a member-supported environmental protection organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River and its tributaries for New York City and Hudson Valley residents. Over the past four decades Riverkeeper has been successful as the public's watchdog in bringing hundreds of pollution violations to justice and protecting drinking water for local communities.
Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper Inc. | Parties
The measures included the construction of advanced waste management facilities for sewage and industrial waste. Levels of copper in the river have decreased 70% since the 1980s and are now comparable to other reference streams in Connecticut. Combined sewer overflows from the City of New Haven are still regarded as a major problem for the estuary.
Quinnipiac River | Ecology and conservation
Federal Power Commission". The case involved Con Ed's proposal to build a hydropower facility on Storm King Mountain in the Hudson Highlands. Scenic Hudson, joined by the Nature Conservancy, filed a complaint against the plant, but the Federal Power Commission (FPC) approved it, ignoring likely ecological harm. Boyle studied this case and found that a "New York Fish and Game Journal" article identified this part of the Hudson as a key spawning ground for striped bass. He informed Scenic Hudson of this result. The FPC rejected this data due to testimony of a former New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) biologist.
Riverkeeper | Scenic Hudson
Beginning around the 1860s, the river again experienced significant mercury pollution from the hatting industry that continued for several years. This pollution had both ecological and anthropogenic effects on the surrounding environment, eventually leading to a need for remediation and cleanup.
Still River (Housatonic River tributary) | Course and watershed
The mid 1980s saw a great increase in the number of trucks driving through the neighborhood with municipal waste, often toxic waste, to be held at "transfer stations." During the 1950 Greenpoint oil spill, at the time the largest oil spill in United States history, of oil spilled into Newtown Creek. Oil is believed to have been seeping into the groundwater since then. Groundwater in this area is not used as drinking water, as all of New York City's drinking water presently comes from upstate reservoirs. However, local activists have been campaigning ever since to clean up the spill. In January 2006, state and oil company officials asserted that to date half of the spill had been cleaned up.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn | Environmental difficulties and litigation
Upstream, on the Dîmbovnic River, is an important oil refinery, the Arpechim Refinery. Since its construction, nearly all the toxic waste was released in the river. In 2005, the situation was so bad, that water in the fountains was no longer drinkable, even for animals. The only solution to provide water for the inhabitants and their animals was to use the deep freatic waters (about 200 meters deep) and to build an extensive system of water pipes to every house. Today, the river is only occasionally polluted and even fish have reappeared after more than 50 years.
Rociu | Environmental problems
Most pollution of the Indian River Bay is due to agricultural and urban runoff. Two solutions have been proposed. The first requires cutting an inlet through Delaware Seashore State Park, which would involve building a bridge and jetty. The other is dredging and widening the Assawoman Canal to improve the flow of tidal water to and from Indian River Bay and the Indian River Inlet.
Indian River Bay | Pollution
Environmental issues in New York State include water, waste disposal, hydraulic fracturing, air quality, and invasive species.
Environmental issues in New York | Introduction
The industrial nature of the mainstem area has caused considerable pollution in the river. Much of the pollution has left the ecosystem via the natural river flow. But analysts estimate that 750,000 cubic yards (573,416 m³) of river bed and shoreline sediment, over a 30-mile (48.2 km) stretch of the mainstem from Leavittsburg to the Pennsylvania border, is so heavily polluted that it will need to be remediated. Approximately 45% of this material is located in the vicinity of the Girard Dam near Girard, Ohio, which has acted as a trap for much of the contaminated sediment. Petroleum hydrocarbons, benzo(a)pyrene (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and mercury have all been found in quantities several times the maximum safe levels.
Mahoning River | Environmental concerns
The river then flows by Hyde Park, former residence of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and alongside the city of Poughkeepsie, flowing under the Walkway over the Hudson and the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Afterwards, the Hudson passes Wappingers Falls and takes in Wappinger Creek. The river then forms the boundary between Orange and Dutchess Counties. It flows between Newburgh and Beacon and under the Newburgh Beacon Bridge, taking in the Fishkill Creek. In this area, between Gee's Point at the US Military Academy and Constitution Island, an area known as "World's End" marks the deepest part of the Hudson, at . Shortly thereafter, the river enters the Hudson Highlands between Putnam and Orange Counties, flowing between mountains such as Storm King Mountain, Breakneck Ridge, and Bear Mountain.
Hudson River | Lower Hudson River
In the 1890s, rather than resorting to expensive filtration, New York City ordered the destruction or relocation of any village or hamlet threatening to pollute the Croton or its tributaries. Many were moved.
Croton River | History
The cleanup of the dioxin contamination on the bottom of the river is the subject of a major environmental lawsuit regarding the responsibility for the cleanup. In 2008 EPA reached a settlement with Occidental Chemical Corporation and Tierra Solutions Inc. to clean a portion of the polluted river. A New Jersey Superior Court judge, ruling in July and September 2011, stated that Occidental and Maxus Exergy Corporation (a subsidiary of YPF) are liable for remediation in other portions of the river. In 2013, several corporate defendants agreed to pay the State of New Jersey $130 million for ecological damages related to Passaic River pollution.
Passaic River | Pollution
Corporate interest often crosses opposing commercial interest, as well as environmental concerns, leading to another form of dispute. In the 1960s, Lake Erie, and to a lesser extent, the other Great Lakes were polluted to the point of massive fish death. Local communities suffered greatly from dismal water quality until the United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. Water pollution poses a significant health risk, especially in heavily industrialized, heavily populated areas like China. In response to a worsening situation in which entire cities lacked safe drinking water, China passed a revised Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law.
Water conflict | Pollution
Environmentalists have expressed concern about increased carbon emissions with the impending deactivation of Indian Point (generating electricity with nuclear energy creates no carbon emissions). A study undertaken by Environmental Progress found that closure of the plant would cause power emissions to jump 29% in New York, equivalent to the emissions from 1.4 million additional cars on New York roads. Some environmental groups have expressed concerns about the operation of Indian Point, including radiation pollution and endangerment of wildlife, but whether Indian Point has ever posed a significant danger to wildlife or the public remains controversial. Though anti-nuclear group Riverkeeper notes "Radioactive leakage from the plant containing several radioactive isotopes, such as strontium-90, cesium-137, cobalt-60, nickel-63 and tritium, a rarely-occurring isotope of hydrogen, has flowed into groundwater that eventually enters the Hudson River in the past, there is no evidence radiation from the plant has ever posed a significant hazard to local residents or wildlife.
Indian Point Energy Center | Environmental concerns
Local residents remained indoors to escape the fumes, partly due to their fear of developing adverse health effects resulting from exposure to the fumes. A study by the New York Department of Energy Conservation (DEC), found the plant's emissions contained hydrogen sulfide levels 28% higher than the standard. Community discontent shifted into activism and in 1988 on Martin Luther King Day, WE ACT co-founders Peggy Shepard and Chuck Sutton, along with several others were arrested for blocking traffic around the treatment facility, as an act of protest against the poor operation and management of the plant. Due to lawsuits filed by community organizations, resistance from West Harlem residents, and pressure from WE ACT, city officials addressed the plant's operating issues in 1991 and located a design flaw that was causing the excess air pollution.
West Harlem Environmental Action | North River Sewage Treatment Plant
The average New Yorker consumes less than half the electricity used by a resident of San Francisco and nearly one-quarter the electricity consumed by a resident of Dallas. Concentrated pollution in New York City leads to high incidence of asthma and other respiratory conditions among the city's residents. In recent years the city has focused on reducing its environmental impact. The city government is required to purchase only the most energy-efficient equipment for use in city offices and public housing. New York has the largest clean air diesel-hybrid and compressed natural gas bus fleet in the country, and some of the first hybrid taxis.
Environmental issues in New York City | Population density in New York City
Before the CWA was enacted, companies indiscriminately discharged their effluents into water bodies. One such water body was the Cuyahoga River located in north-east Ohio. The river was thrust into the national limelight in 1969 when it caught fire, although the river had been plagued by fires since 1936. Pollution of the river had become prevalent in the early 1800s as contaminants from municipal and industrial discharges, bank erosion, commercial/residential development, atmospheric deposition, hazardous waste disposal sites, urban storm water runoff, combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and wastewater treatment plant bypasses were discharged into the river. "Time" magazine described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays." The 1969 river fire, and the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill in California—the largest such spill in U.S.
United States regulation of point source water pollution | Water pollution incidents and public response
The waterway is polluted due to the overflow location of the combined sewer system at the basin's northern end. The area's sanitary sewer (from residential and industrial sources) is carried through the same system as the storm water. Typically, the full volume of that water is drained to the Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) located on Knapp Street. However, during periods of heavy rainfall, the Knapp Street plant does not have the capacity to treat the full volume of the water, so untreated water is forced to flow out into Paerdegat Basin. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is working to mitigate the environmental impact of the overflow on the ecosystem.
Paerdegat Basin | Sewage treatment plant
Data from these studies suggest the presence of metals, organic contaminants and influx of raw sewage are common in many tributaries of the New River. Metals contamination, resulting from mining activities and or urban surface flows, are present in most tributaries. Other sources of pollutants within park boundaries include unlined landfills, illegal dumps, pesticide sprayed directly into the New River, agricultural runoff, road salt runoff, direct discharge of residential sewage, inadequate municipal sewage treatment facilities, recreation waste streams, and industrial discharges. Pollution of rural streams by fecal coliform bacteria is a widespread issue. Since fecal coliform bacteria live in the gut of warm-blooded animals, fecal contamination of rural streams can come not only from humans, but also from livestock, pets, and wildlife (including birds).
New River (Kanawha River tributary) | Environmental factors and climate change
For two centuries, the river suffered from extremely severe pollution. The construction of the Oradell Reservoir dam in 1921 essentially changed the lower river from a free-flowing stream into a brackish estuary, allowing the encroachment of marine species. Urbanization in the region intensified after World War II, with the expansion of roads and highways, including the New Jersey Turnpike (1952), as well as the Meadowlands Sports Complex (1970s). By the 1960s, much of the lower river was essentially a turbid hypoxic dead zone, with only the hardiest of species, such as the mummichog, able to survive in its waters. Chemical companies dumped large volumes of waste into Berry's Creek during the 20th century, resulting in the highest concentrations of methyl mercury of any fresh-water sediment in the world, as well as extensive residues of PCBs and other chemicals.
Hackensack River | History
Jakarta struggled with air pollution and river pollution problems. River pollution revealed where authorities covered a foul-smelling river near the athletes' village with black nylon mesh over fears it will be an eyesore at the showpiece event. Governor of Jakarta at that time, and the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry quickly relieved the issues by various solutions.
2018 Asian Games | Concerns and controversies
By the late 19th-century, the lower stretches of the Mad River were known to be tremendously polluted by industrial operations. Factory waste, as well as sewage produced by throngs of factory workers, was discharged directly into the river. One observer of the Mad River in 1887 noted that water downstream of Scovill Manufacturing Company, one of the foremost brass producers in Waterbury, "showed extreme contamination; it was of a dark turbid color, with a strong odor and was covered with iridescent films of oily and greasy matters". Strengthened environmental regulations in the 1970s forbade the release of toxic chemicals into both Mad River and the nearby Naugatuck River and tightened restrictions on the pollutants billowing from the factory smokestacks.
Mad River (Connecticut) | Colonial and industrial history
From late 1998 until spring 2005, a land-use conflict took place when St. Lawrence Cement (SLC), a subsidiary of Swiss multinational Holderbank (since renamed Holcim), then one of the world's largest cement companies, proposed to build a cement-manufacturing plant. The massive coal-fired plant project would have occupied more than in the city of Hudson and the town of Greenport. Supporters cited the project for jobs and stimulating other growth. Sustained grassroots opposition to the project was led by business owner Peter Jung and journalist Sam Pratt, co-founders of Friends of Hudson (FOH). Opponents argued the proposed project violated state environmental regulations and would adversely affect the river, shoreline, and related habitats.
Hudson, New York | Land use controversy
Prior to Riverkeeper's predecessor organization, the Hudson River Fishermen's Association (HRFA), a few activists strove to mobilize the Hudson Valley politic. Of note was Robert H. Boyle, a fisherman and a sportswriter for "Sports Illustrated". Boyle moved to the area in the 1960s and, upon fishing the Hudson and its tributaries, grew fond of the region. He became familiar with residents that he found knew most about the river, the fishermen. Soon after, he began to research the river and published articles rebuking wild land conservation as ignorant of community environmental issues. Boyle's support was crucial to the litigation between local environmentalists, organized under the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference (Scenic Hudson), and Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), New York's chief electric utility in the case "Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v.
Riverkeeper | Scenic Hudson
Parkland surrounds much of the Hudson River; prominent parks include Battery Park and Liberty State Park at the river's mouth, Riverside Park in Manhattan, Croton Point Park, Bear Mountain State Park, Storm King State Park and the Hudson Highlands, Moreau Lake State Park, and its source in the High Peaks Wilderness Area. The New Tappan Zee Bridge between Westchester and Rockland counties has a pedestrian and bicycling path covering a distance of about 3.6 miles. Another pedestrian and bike path exists further north, between Dutchess and Ulster Counties: Walkway Over the Hudson, which has a one-way length of 1.2 miles.
Hudson River | Activities
The results of recent inventories of fish populations show that the populations of brook trout upstream of the site of the former zoological garden of Quebec are allopatric while they are sympatric downstream. Part of the river banks is protected by the Saint-Charles and Berger rivers linear park.
Rivière du Berger | Pollution and protection
The Schaghticoke land reserve is located along the Housatonic River, which is polluted with PCBs manufactured by Monsanto and put into the river by General Electric from their electrical transformer factory in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This limits the use of the river and presents health risks to those who live along river, and for instance they may no longer eat the fish from the river.
Schaghticoke people | Housatonic River pollution
The lower Hudson is actually a tidal estuary, with tidal influence extending as far as the Federal Dam in Troy. There are about two high tides and two low tides per day. As the tide rises, the tidal current moves northward, taking enough time that part of the river can be at high tide while another part can be at the bottom of its low tide. Strong tides make parts of New York Harbor difficult and dangerous to navigate. During the winter, ice floes may drift south or north, depending upon the tides. The Mahican name of the river represents its partially estuarine nature: "muh-he-kun-ne-tuk" means "the river that flows both ways." Due to tidal influence from the ocean extending to Troy, NY, freshwater discharge is only about per second on average.
Hudson River | Geography and watershed
Even before the hatting industry began in the late 1700s, the Still River was known as a dead river. This was due to pollution from farms in the area surrounding Danbury, CT. Farmers used the river as a cite to get rid of waste and other toxic debris. Historical documents from Danbury and surrounding towns cited the river as a sewage dump around the 1880s, and the water was unusable for both agricultural and industrial use. It wasn't until a court case ruling in 1895, along with the Clean Water Act in 1972 that the city of Danbury was required to take responsibility for the sate of the river.
Still River (Housatonic River tributary) | History