2021 Citizens Water Quality Testing Results (Weeks 1-10)
/Week 10: July 23
Ten weeks down, ten weeks to go--halfway through the season. How are we doing? Well, 9.2 inches of rain in the first three weeks of July is pretty crazy (4.6 is the historical average for the entire month). Since the start of our sampling season in May, we've had 14.41 inches, or an average of nearly an inch and a half a week, which may explain why this is shaping up to be another 'red' summer--the fourth in a row. With climate scientists predicting more rain and bigger storms for NYC, this may be the new normal.
Click here to see our latest results.
New window display at our storefront lab in Williamsburg (262 Kent Ave)--come pay a visit!
Waterway News of Note
Take a ride with John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper's patrol boat captain (NYTimes)
Another shoreline gets stomped on as AirTrain to La Guardia wins U.S. approval (NYTimes)
Scrimmaging over the Gowanus continues (Red Hook Star-Revue)
Meltdown at Splashtown (NY Times)
"Disadvantaged Communities"--what are the metrics? (Grist)
Weekly Slide Show
Jessica Bonamusa from the Interstate Environmental Commission demonstrating proper sampling technique at the Sebago Canoe Club
Oil and water: sampling off the Pier 4 beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park
A spate of recent subway floods prompted Eymund Diegel to snap this shot in the 36th St. station in Sunset Park, which used to be marshland
Proto-beach, Gansevoort Peninsula, Hudson River Park (Heather Davidson)
Pincer movement (Jason Sherman)
Sample taken at the Rutgers University Class of 1914 Boathouse, with the terminus of the Delaware & Raritan Canal and the city of New Brunswick in the background (Heather Fenyk)
Species ID Quiz
What made these holes?
Harbor ID Quiz
Name the hill in the background. hint: that's a DEP sludge ship in the foreground
Last week's quiz answers
Species ID: Rock Gunnel
Harbor Geography: Swindler Cove at Sherman Creek Park, Harlem River, Upper Manhattan
Week 9: July 16
Still recovering from the parting of the skies last Thursday night. On Friday the Department of Environmental Protection issued advisories for 32 waterbodies, which might be a record. This week the Department of Health, which follows different protocols, issued its first advisories of the season for public bathing beaches.
Click here to see our latest results.
Waterways News of Note
Thanks Elsa! Swim leg canceled on eve of NYC Triathlon (Reddit)
Baywatch (horror movie version): 17 Million Gallons of Sewage Closes Beaches (NY Times)
Basta! Venice gives cruise ships the boot (Old Salt Blog)
PARTNER PROFILE: HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER
We were able to start our testing program thanks to the Interstate Environmental Commission's Volunteer Pathogens Monitoring initiative. Three Riverkeeper staffers - Jodi Jamieson, Samantha Kreisler and me - were trained by IEC's Jessica Bonamusa and completed our first (albeit pandemic-truncated) season last year. This year we’ve engaged & trained volunteers and taken on Summer Intern Cassandra Harper (UNH ’22) to work with us and maintain our blog, which Sam created in 2020. The goal is to make our independently-collected data available to everyone including our colleagues in conservation throughout the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, agencies / official entities, and anyone who wants to know more about the ongoing recovery of the Hackensack River and its sister waterways -- and the fact that we still have a long way to go.
--Captain Hugh M. Carola, Program Director
Weekly Slide Show
Bagpipe guarding Michael Haskell's sample at the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse
Jose Almonte after biking over the Manhattan bridge with the sample from Brooklyn Bridge Beach
Cleanup at Matthew Buono Beach, Rosebank, Staten Island (James Scarcella, Natural Resources Protective Association)
Oars up! City of Water Day at Sebago Canoe Club, Paerdegat Basin, Jamaica Bay
Humpback whales breaching off Domino Park (in 2030, in a car ad)
Species ID Quiz
cheat sheet available here
Harbor Geography Quiz
oyster and wetlands restoration taking place where
Last week's quiz answers:
Harbor Geography: Brooklyn Navy Yard
Species ID: tomato plant!
Gender ID: male blue crab
Week 8: July 9
Talk about a double whammy! Yesterday's violent thunderstorm slammed Central Park with 2.27 inches of rain, a record for the date, and hit parts of the Bronx with even more (3.5 inches at Fordham). Early this morning, the remnants of Tropical Storm Elsa dropped an additional 1.79 inches in Central Park, also a record for the date. Both events happened well after our Thursday morning sampling rounds had concluded, so the numbers weren't as bad as they might have been had we sampled this morning. They were still pretty bad though. Click here to see the results.
Skyline? What skyline? Yesterday's monster cloudburst as seen from Williamsburg
Waterways News Roundup
Can't tell a mobile invertebrate from a sessile organism? Check out the new Billion Oyster Project species ID guide, edited by Agata Poniatowski and beautifully illustrated by Shiere Melin.
Maybe we should do this: Heal the Bay's annual report card, in which 500 West Coast beaches get graded, A to F
Who needs a pool, wild swimming is back! (the Atlantic)
Events of Interest
Tomorrow is City of Water Day--here's a list and interactive map of free stuff to do on both sides of the harbor, including paddling, sailing, and art-making.
And what's the official word on swimming tomorrow? Here's the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's interactive beach map
Weekly Slide Show
Illusion Rivera preparing a sample at the Williamsburg Field Station lab
Blue claw crab sex check: male or female?
Restoration in progress: concrete 'reef balls' encrusted with oyster spat being installed in Hudson River Park's estuarine sanctuary.
Nice--but shoulda been a beach (Heather Davidson)
Species ID Quiz
What's this growing atop the pilings in Brooklyn Bridge Park?
Where are we?
Last week’s quiz answer
Species ID: skilletfish
Week 7: July 2
Worst week of the season so far. Click here to see the results.
Eyes on the prize: fishable AND swimmable!
Waterways News Roundup
Two views of a voyage to Oyster Island: Bob Sullivan (The New Yorker), Marie Lorenz (Tide and Current Taxi)
Save the Harbor, Plant a Willow (Popsci.com via HarborLab)
Events of Interest
Play a round of climate change mini-golf!
Read a great book: "The Fisheries of Raritan Bay," by Clyde L. MacKenzie, Jr.
Weekly Slide Show
Reena Sheth sampling south of Governors Island (Hana Isihara)
Bushwick Inlet: I'm not moving till they hatch (Hana Isihara)
Brooklyn Bridge Beach (Manhattan side): yo EDC, do we really still need this?
Amy John on the temporary fireworks fence in Williamsburg: "There were just several very unhappy puppies at the park today!"
Species ID Quiz
Name the fish hiding out in each shell
hint, though native, they were not seen in the Hudson for more than 100 years, until staff at the River Project rediscovered them hanging out in oyster cages in 2011
Last week's quiz answer
Harbor Geography: Hallets Cove
Week 6 June 25
A mostly dry week led to some encouraging numbers, especially on the Jersey side of the harbor--both the Raritan and the Hackensack Rivers looking good! Click here to see the results.
Jersey Pride: schooner sunset over Hoboken's Castle Point.
Waterways News Roundup
Teaching My Black Son to Swim (NY Times)
Helium balloons get the boot (in the Hamptons) (Patch NY)
Back and forth on the muddy discharge from the Ashokan Reservoir (Daily Freeman)
Drones to Samplers: Drop Dead (Enterprise Insights)
Events of Interest
Putting GREEN is opening next week! Make sure to check out hole #15, "The Big Oyster," designed by Chris Edmonds and Nat Quinn in partnership with BOP's Williamsburg team!
The South Street Seaport is offering free entry to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the rest of the summer--book here.
Weekly Slide Show
From the headwaters: Arturo Moreno with samples from English Kills and East Branch on Newtown Creek.
Hana Isihara and Illusion Rivera sampling off Grand Ferry Park on the East River
Michael Haskell with the sample from the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse, near the mouth of the Creek.
Halletts Cove: a call to arms!
Harbor Geography Quiz
Name this spot!
Last week's quiz answers
Species ID: polychete worm, aka blood worm
Harbor Geography: Anable Basin
Week 5: June 18
Another not-so-great week despite the pretty great weather. Click here to view the results of yesterday's sampling.
Sometimes it's easier just to climb over the fence: Illusion Rivera sampling at North 3rd St in Williamsburg (Hana Isihara)
Weekly Waterways News Roundup
More maybe than you want to know about upcoming waterfront development projects (NY Post)
In honor of Juneteenth (tomorrow) here's a piece on Thomas Downing, the oyster king of New York and a key supporter of the Underground Railroad (Virginian-Pilot)
Remember when we marched to keep it at 350? (NY Times)
Weekly Slide Show
Laurie Bleich with her sample from Paerdegat Basin (Sebago Canoe Club)
Sean Lynch with Gowanus and Valentino Pier samples
Big-time algae bloom underway in Wallabout Channel
Those Plus Pool people are so bouncy!
species id quiz
What is this?
harbor geography quiz
Where is it?
David Hammons' 'Day's End' and the soon to be rebuilt shoreline of Gansevoort Peninsula (Heather Davidson)
Last week's quiz answers
Species ID: osprey eggs
Harbor Geography: Coney Island Creek
Week 4: June 11
Click here to view the results of yesterday's sampling. Not a good week, with some surprisingly high numbers in places that are usually ok--especially on the Hudson side.
Watching yesterday's annular eclipse at the Salt Marsh Nature Center in Marine Park (photo: Hanish Khodali)
Waterways News Roundup
Those nasty HABs are back, and this cool map from NJ DEP shows you where
Need to get out of the house? Check out the outdoor art show in Riverside Park
Partner profile: John Jay College Biology Department
This season, at selected sites on the East River, CWQT volunteers are taking extra water samples in order to assist two biologists from John Jay College, Teeshavi Acosta (seen here above right) and Kate Good, who are studying the presence of drugs in New York City waterways--both commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals (mood altering drugs, steroids, cardiovascular drugs, antacid and antibiotic drugs) and high prevalent drugs of abuse (cocaine, amphetamines, opioids and cannabis). By comparing those samples with the bacteria samples we are taking at the same time, it may be possible to determine the source of these micropollutants (wastewater treatment plant discharge or CSOs) and determine if there is a correlation between drug concentrations and enterococcus bacteria levels at our study sites.
Weekly Slide Show
Danny Lin at the Plus Pool site on Pier 35
Siddhartha Hayes and Carrie Roble from Hudson River Park's River Project, at their field station on Pier 40
Arturo Moreno's sample from the Grand St Bridge (East Branch of Newtown Creek)
Horshoe crab mating season in Marine Park (Hanish Khodali)
Harbor Geography Quiz
This is the ‘souce’ of what waterway?
Species ID Quiz
Whose eggs?
Hate it when this happens!
Last week's quiz answers:
Species ID: red boring sponge, which is an animal!
Harbor geography: Williamsburgh Yacht Club on College Point, Flushing Bay, Queens
WEEK 3: June 4
This week, we saw a fair number of unacceptable sites based on this week’s water quality testing. We are excited to announce that we have added three new testing sites at:
Pier 35 (+Pool)
Raritan Bay (Oakwood Beach)
Raritan Bay (Great Kills Beach)
We are also testing at the Gowanus Canal (Second Avenue Salt Lot) for the first time since 2015.
Waterways News Roundup
Miami Hits the Wall (NY Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/us/miami-fl-seawall-hurricanes.html
Industry self-regulation, a case study (NY Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/world/europe/climate-change-un-international-maritime-organization.html
Get Involved
Community oyster monitoring in Bushwick Inlet Park — Saturday June 5, 1-2:30
BOP’s inaugural Community Science Forum, aka ‘the Scyposium,’ will take place on Thursday, June 10 from 4-6 pm: signup form here
Weekly Slideshow
New pathogens sampling program launched on Staten Island! Students from Monsignor Farrell High School preparing to sample at Great Kills Beach.
![New site this week! + POOL [the proposed in-river swimming pool] has received a notice to proceed with due diligence on the project in the waters north of the Manhattan Bridge in the Two Bridges Neighborhood.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c5604249b8fe80245a0d052/1622838450529-P2SG3TOTXE041QJ0IPMT/%2BPOOL)
New site this week! + POOL [the proposed in-river swimming pool] has received a notice to proceed with due diligence on the project in the waters north of the Manhattan Bridge in the Two Bridges Neighborhood.
Another new site! Pier 7 in Sheepshead Bay (photo: Lee Patrick)
Rob Buchanan collecting the water sample at N. 3rd St
Hana Isihara carrying the samples ashore (N. 3rd St., Williamsburg)
BOP Ambassadors preparing a 'midden' for the aforementioned mini-golf venue.
Coming soon to Williamsburg: a climate-change-themed mini-golf venue.
English Kills sample bucket looking sketchy (photo: Willis Elkins)
Algae bloom in Dutch Kills (photo: Willis Elkins)
East Branch (Newtown Creek) water sample getting jostled by passing truck traffic (photo: Willis Elkins)
Family outing at Sebago Canoe Club (photo: Laurie Bleich)
Phone photo of the week award: Eymund Diegel!
And what the heck, here's one more!
species id quiz?
what animal is this?
harbor geography quiz
name this place!
Last week's quiz answers
Species ID: sand collars are egg casings laid by female moon snails; they consist of a matrix of sand grains cemented together by a gelatinous slime, in which the eggs are embedded.
Harbor geography: the shoal is known as Oyster Island, south of the Statue of Liberty, only emerges on very low tides.
Week 2: May 28
A beautiful week that ended with a bang — the storm dropped less than a tenth of an inch in Central Park, but more in other parts of the city. Some high numbers in some of the usual places — most of Newtown Creek, for example — but also in places where you might not expect them (Halletts Cove, Valentino Pier).
Eymund Diegel and friend admire a sample at Bush Terminal Park.
Waterways News Roundup
Just in time for the big (rainy) weekend: the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary Paddling Guide
NYC public beaches open tomorrow (tho given the forecast, you might not want to swim)
Prison ships on the East River are a thing of the past, right? Check out the mini-doc that dropped today, from filmmakers Laura Poitras ("Citizen Four") and Sean Vegezzi.
Get Involved
Gowanus Rezoning Public Hearing, June 3, 3:30 pm
Notice of Public Hearing and Comment: Hudson River Park Estuarine Sanctuary Management Plan
Weekly Slideshow
Double duty: Holly Fongblatt samples at Dutch Kills and East Branch on Newtown Creek (photo: Hana Isihara)
Hmm, could this explain the high numbers at Gansevoort this week? (photo: Heather Davidson)
Must be duckweed season: Rob Coover's sample from Prospect Park Lake.
The champ: a whopping 180 mm (7-inch) oyster pulled from a Billion Oyster Project cage at Richmond County Yacht Club on Staten Island
'Bout time: Gansevoort Peninsula wetlands under construction (photo: Marcel Dejean)
Substitute research vessel in action at South Fifth Street, Domino Park (photo: Mike Lampariello)
Poacher alert: two undersized striped bass found strung together and belly up in Wallabout Channel (legal limit is one per day, 28-35 inches)
Sailing to Jamaica Bay (photo: Ingo Gunther)
Harbor Geography Quiz
name this place
Species ID quiz
what animal made these
Last week's quiz answers
Species ID: Animal (colonial tunicate)
Harbor Geography: Wallabout Channel, Brooklyn Navy Yard
WEEK 1: May 21
It’s hard to believe we're embarking on our tenth season of water testing! How has the program grown, you may ask. And has the water gotten any cleaner? See the two graphs below for a quick recap, and let us know if you'd like to see the full dataset.
Meanwhile we're off to a good start this year, thanks to a virtually rainless week.
Annual samples taken (all good until the pandemic)
Annual results vs. average weekly rainfall (more than .8 inches seems to be a problem)
Waterways News Roundup
Environmental justice alert: Sewage Crisis Hits Mt. Vernon
Newtown Creek Nature Walk: It only took 23 years
Port of New York: New container ship record
Antarctica: New iceberg record
Get Involved
The draft NYC Comprehensive Waterfront Plan is out, two opportunities to comment next week.
Wanna start your own water testing program? The EPA is ready to help.
Weekly Slideshow
Sampler of the week (or maybe the season): Sanjay Shirke, a CWQT volunteer from Manhattan, ran over Williamsburg and Pulaski bridges to collect a water sample at Gantry State Park, ran back to the lab in Williamsburg to deliver it, and then ran home.
Happy hour at Domino Park
Heather Davidson collected two samples at Gansevoort Peninsula in Hudson River Park, one to test for bacteria and the other for pharmaceuticals--part of a new testing program at John Jay College.
7th grade science: monitoring oyster growth at the Williamsburgh Yacht Club on Flushing Bay
South Williamsburg: Does dumping truckloads of bread in the East River count as pollution?
Thanks from the Williamsburg Field Station lab team and see you next week!
harbor geography quiz
where is this
species id quiz
what is this animal
The Citizens Water Quality Testing Program (CWQT) is a collaboration between the New York City Water Trail Association, the Billion Oyster Project, and Hudson River Park's River Project, with support from Two Trees Management. Other partners this year include the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River, SUNY Maritime's Marine Environmental Science program, the Bronx River Alliance, Queens College, Newtown Creek Alliance, the Interstate Environmental Commission, and the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership. For more information, to volunteer, or to unsubscribe, email us at water-quality@nycwatertrail.org.