Dear Editor:
I am an eighth grade student at The Hudson School. For our science class we tested the water in the Hudson River to find out whether it matched the DEC standards, which are:
200 colonies Per 100 milliliters (fecal coliform test); at least 71% oxygen (dissolved oxygen test); anything that is 39 Jackson Turbidity Units (JTU) or less (turbidity test).
We tested the following three categories:
1. The turbidity levels, which indicate how much sediment or particulate matter is in the river. The average was approximately 40 JTU, which is over the standard.
2. The percentage of oxygen in the water which shows how many phosphates (nutrients often found in cleaning fluids) are in the water. Phosphates overstimulate the growth of algae. This algae is food for the bacteria in the water. However, this bacteria that consumes the phosphates also needs to breathe oxygen from the water. Another bacteria that breathes oxygen is the bacteria from the sewage. So it is a two-pronged problem. The water condition in which there is not enough oxygen in the water is known as hypoxia. Fish, which derive oxygen from the water, need it to survive. So when hypoxia occurs, fish will die. In the Hudson River, we only found 40-45% oxygen in the water which is extremely under the standards.
3. The fecal coliform levels, which tell us the amount of human fecal matter in the water. Fecal coliform itself is a non-harmful bacteria, but if there is a lot of fecal coliform around, that means there is a lot of human waste polluting the water. There were over 200 colonies per milliliter, just over the DEC standards.
There is a source of error in our test; we tested the water on the shore, (near a construction site) where a lot of sediment may have entered the river. If so, it threw off our turbidity levels. Even so, I doubt that results for water taken from the middle of the river would be much different from the water we tested. I am requesting that some public awareness be made and that appropriate action be taken. This is not an editorial, but an informative springboard for you to create an article with. Another idea is for you to send this to the papers you sponsor and have them create an article. That way the word will spread even more. Here are some things that everyone can do: to help ensure a cleaner Hudson River:
• Do not dispose chemicals such as mercury, paint or phosphate-filled cleaning fluids down the drain. Usually these chemicals will be removed at the water treatment plants, but if it rains heavily, then a combined sewer overflow may occur which means that there would be too much water for the plants to handle at once. The excess water would be directly discharged in its untreated form into local waterways. Should that excess water contain the aforementioned chemicals, the river would not be the only thing in trouble.
• Do not litter. I am sure you have heard this all the time, but the elements may push solid garbage into the river where birds or fish may mistake it for food and choke.
• Conserve water. If there is less water being flushed down the drain, then the problem of combined sewer overflow mentioned earlier will be greatly lessened.
• Cut down on your car usage. This sounds more like global warming prevention than water safety, however, the exhaust that floats into the air can form clouds and send acid rain back down, most of which will probably end up in the river.
I thank you for reading my letter, and look forward to your response hoping that, together, we can help make people understand the importance of a cleaner river.
Jeremy Pesner