(11/P91) TRENTON - The DEP’s Bureaus of Marine Water Monitoring, Emergency Response, and Water Compliance and Enforcement continue to closely monitor waters of the Hudson River and New York Harbor to assess potential impacts of recent raw sewage discharges from a New York City wastewater treatment plant, and continue to find no impacts to the Jersey Shore or the State’s shellfish beds.

Water sampling that has been done by the DEP in Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook, and by the Monmouth County Health Department at beaches in Monmouth County have found no signs of any contaminants from Hudson River discharges that occurred last week from New York City’s North River Wastewater Treatment Plant.

No effluent or discharged materials have been observed floating on the water, no odors are being detected, and there is no visible plume of effluent.

Higher than normal levels of bacteria, however, continue to be found in the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay. So the DEP continues to strongly advise against recreational activities, including swimming, kayaking, jet skiing, or fishing and crabbing, in the Hudson and Upper New York Bay, north of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The State will provide updates when normal recreational activities may resume.

Scientists from the DEP continue to monitor the region by boat and air, and will continue to analyze water samples from the Hudson River and adjacent areas. 

While New York City has closed several of its beaches in Staten Island and Brooklyn for precautionary reasons, there have been no impacts to New Jersey’s beaches. Monitoring results also indicate that New Jersey shellfish beds in Raritan Bay and along Sandy Hook have not been affected and remain open for clamming. 
The DEP and State Department of Health and Senior Services are working closely with affected towns and counties situated along the Hudson River, as well as local and county health departments, to provide current information.