Health Department: Avoid Hudson River

A fire at a New York City wastewater facility has resulted in untreated sewage being discharged in the Hudson River.

The North River Wastewater Treatment Plant at W. 135th Street and 12th Avenue was taken offline yesterday afternoon following a four-alarm fire in the engine room. Starting around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, untreated wastewater started to be directly discharged into the Hudson River.

As a result, the Westchester County Department of Health has issued an advisory, calling on residents to avoid direct contact with potentially polluted waters through Sunday. 

"People who use the Hudson River waters along Westchester County for recreational purposes, namely swimmers, windsurfers and kayakers, [should] avoid direct contact with the Hudson River now throughout the weekend," a released statement said. 

According to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, it would take about 48 hours of continuous discharge before there is a significant water quality impact on Hudson River shores. The Harlem-based facility treats up to 170 million gallons of wastewater a day.

A statement from the DEP, said they were "working as quickly as possible to get the plant running again" and that they will be providing updates on the situation as needed at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/home/home.shtml