White Plains CitizeNetReporter - 1.4 Billion Gals Partial-Treated Sewage into Hudson. 7 More Days to Fix

WPCNR WATCH ON THE RIVER. By John F. Bailey. November 13, 2012: Caren Halbfinger, spokesperson for the Westchester County Department of Health furnished WPCNR details on the damage Hurricane Sandy did to the Yonkers Ludlow Sewage Plant October 29. According to her estimates, 1.4 billion gallons of raw sewage, miminally treated by chlorine only, has been diverted into the Hudson River due to the plant being shut down the last 15 days from Sandy damage. Ms. Halbfinger said she expected the plant to be repaired and functioning in 7 days. Here is what she has told us so far: 1. WPCNR: What caused the Yonkers sewage plant to discharge the raw sewage into the Hudson? Halbfinger: The equipment was shut down to prevent an explosion and fire that could be caused by water hitting high voltage lines. In addition, the storm surge washed the Hudson into the basement of the plant, where much of the pumps and electrical equipment are located. All of the motors had to be taken apart, cleaned and repaired and parts had to be replaced, along with electrical controls. The whole plant had to be pumped out washed and disinfected and treated to prevent mold. All the insulation on the pipes had to be removed, the pipes had to be cleaned and the pipes will be reinsulated. WPCNR: When is it expected to be fixed? Halbfinger: Secondary treatment is expected in the next few days, but it will take at least a week for this biological process to start providing treatment. WPCNR: What was the delay in getting it fixed? What caused the delay? Halbfinger: We’re making steady progress, but the sheer size and scope of the work involved has been a tremendous undertaking by the Department of Environmental Facilities. The plant is about a half-mile long, and for most of this length, the basement was filled with water that had to be pumped out. Then the basement had to be dried out. All of the pipes had to have their insulation removed, the salt water had to be washed from the pipe and then new insulation will be installed. We had 250 motors that had to be removed, repaired and reinstalled. It all takes time. Two 5,000 gallon tanks of polymer ruptured in the basement and that had to be cleaned up. It took time to get the needed parts and to make the repairs. And we’re in good company. Sewage treatment plants throughout the tri-state area have all been faced with similar problems. WPCNR: How many gallons of effluent were discharged for 15 days into the Hudson? Halbfinger: We do not know the volume because the equipment that measures this was knocked out by the storm. However, we estimate that 120 million gallons was released the day of the storm, 100 million the day after, and 80 million gallons of partially treated sewage have been released daily since then. WPCNR: Was effluent treated? Halbfinger: Yes, from the time of the shutdown during the storm, the discharge was screened and treated with chlorine. This is called partial treatment. We are slowly getting back to normal. Since November 3, some of the settling tanks are back in business, and we have been removing sludge and organics from the waste water and trucking it away for disposal, as we did before the storm. This is called primary treatment.


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