Green Science: NYC/Metro Clean Water Project

Boating season is a still a few months off, but a new citizen-run water testing program will help make 2012 outings healthier and safer.

Last year’s record-breaking rainfalls caused NYC’s combined sewer system to overflow into the Hudson River and other nearby waterways, creating unsafe and unsanitary water conditions for recreational boaters.

Concerned members of the boating community felt that the City and DEP didn’t do a good enough job of monitoring and reporting on water conditions, so they joined together to create a solution.

From Nancy Brous, via the New York City Water Trail Association:

Last fall, the NYC Water Trail Association partnered with the River Project on a six-week pilot program to measure near-shore bacterial contamination at a dozen popular human-powered boat launches (the Department of Environmental Protection also monitors water quality, but at mid-channel locations far from any sewer outfalls).

This is a great citizen science project with immediate, measurable positive results that benefit tens of thousands of NYC/Metro area boaters.

Learn more, keep updated, and get involved.