Manhattan has 32 miles of waterfront, but none of it is officially open to swimmers, including a pristine new beach on the Hudson River in Chelsea.
Gansevoort Peninsula features sand, picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and a fantastic view. But bathers are banned from taking a dip. The main reason? Poor water quality results from two combined sewer overflow pipes nearby, which spew a mix of stormwater and sewage into the Hudson River during heavy rain.
Just a half-inch of precipitation can be enough to flood the sewer system. As a result, nearly 20 billion gallons of whatever goes down the drain pour out of the 460 outfalls along city waterways, including the two by Gansevoort Beach, which opened in October 2023.
But advocates at the environmental group Riverkeeper are pushing for a new policy: if the water’s good, let people swim. On dry days when sewage has not recently been spewed into waterways, people should be able to swim in more locations, said Riverkeeper’s legal director Michael Dulong.
”It’s our dream that Gansevoort Beach would be the beginning,” Dulong said. “It would be just a sample of what could be done throughout the city, and it would provide the model to open up beaches elsewhere throughout the city.”
Gothamist recently rode along on the Fletcher, a 36-foot fishing boat that patrols pollution on the waterways from Troy to the Harbor for the environmental group Riverkeeper. After nearly a week of rainy days, Riverkeeper staff aboard the ship took a closer look at sewer outfalls that ranged in size from 2-foot diameter pipes to 30-foot-wide concrete openings.
Capt. Luis Melendez pilots the pollution patrol boat owned by Riverkeeper.
Rosemary Misdary
“It’s a lot of sewage and there’s a lot of bacteria–things like PFAS, things like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and all of that stuff dumps into waterways every time that it rains,” said Riverkeeper’s science director Shannon Roback.
Riverkeeper’s campaign for more public swimming is starting with Gansevoort Beach. Dulong said it’s an ideal spot because it’s in a high-traffic neighborhood and shielded from strong currents and boat traffic.
But recent tests of water quality at the beach highlight the challenges – and health risks – of people getting the water.
According to 20 tests performed last year between May and September by the Billion Oyster Project, which is seeking to restore the mollusks in the Hudson, the water was safe in just over half of the samples. The poor water quality correlated with rainy days, mirroring a trend throughout the city. On average, Riverkeeper estimates one out of three days is unsafe for swimming in New York City waters.
”This is not unique to Gansevoort Beach. It’s not unique to Manhattan or New York City,” Dulong said.
During heavy rainfall, even the beaches designated for swimming can become unsafe. When Coney Island gets more than 2.5 inches of rain in 12 hours, that’s enough to make the water unsafe, according to a 2024 beach report prepared by the city. When water quality tests show poor results at beaches, the city closes them to swimmers. Riverkeeper is pushing for the same process at designated spots along city rivers.
A ramp at Gansevoort Beach allows visitors to soak their feet. But swimming is off-limits.
Hudson River Park Trust
”It’s not just Gansevoort Beach that we’re trying to open. It’s every single shoreline where there is a protected area, protected from the tides, protected from boats, that people can swim safely.” Dulong said, adding that the group hopes to achieve the goal within 20 years.
Riverkeeper performs testing in more than 200 locations in New York waterways once a month from May to October. Roback tests for dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, turbidity and temperature, but the biggest indicator for safe swimming is levels of fecal bacteria.
Typically, areas with fewer combined sewer outfalls and less human activity have safer water for swimming. Spots near the George Washington Bridge, Dyckman Beach and West 79th Street, have consistently had the best water quality, according to Riverkeeper.
Openings on the East River that dump a mix of stormwater and sewage during heavy rain.
Rosemary Misdary
The poorest water quality is found in some of the city’s most notorious waterways, like Newtown Creek, Gowanus Canal and Morris Canal.
”Fecal indicator bacteria… can cause acute illness. People can get gastrointestinal illnesses, rashes,” Roback said.
The ultimate solution to poor water quality is a dramatic overhaul of the city’s aged sewer system. Roback said such a solution would result in much safer swimming locations and a potential rebound in fish populations. Gothamist previously reported that it would cost more than $36 billion to modernize the sewers to prevent the runoff.
“Imagine if you could just walk to where your street meets the water and jump in the water and if it were safe – a place where you could recreate, where you could lie on the beach,” Dulong said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
