The Division of Water has posted new announcements on its webpage.

This Week's Updates:

• Chesapeake Bay Watershed Grants Awarded
• Sewage Pollution Right to Know Historical Data Posted
• New Publications Available
• Harmful Algal Bloom Notifications

Nearly $1 Million in Grants Awarded to Restore Chesapeake Bay Watershed

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos awarded three grants totaling nearly $1 million for programs in New York's portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Funding for the grants is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DEC's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program administers the grants. The grants are for projects to permanently protect riparian buffers through land acquisition and conservation easements. For more information, view DEC’s July 14 press release.

Sewage Pollution Right to Know Historical Data through May 2017 Posted

This week, historical sewage discharge report data through mid-May 2017 was posted on DEC’s Sewage Discharge Reports webpage. The data comes from NY-Alert reports to DEC of untreated and partially treated sewage discharges, as required by the 2013 Sewage Pollution Right to Know law.

Historical data is added to the website periodically in batches. Notifications of discharges for the last 7 days are located on the Recent NY-Alert Sewage Spill Notifications webpage.  

More about Sewage Pollution Right to Know and Alerts

The law builds public awareness about where sewage pollution is entering waterbodies and helps to document wastewater infrastructure needs. The NY-Alert notifications help the public avoid contact with waterbodies that may contain bacteria that can cause illness while boating, fishing or swimming.  

Visit the Sewage Pollution Right to Know webpage to learn how to receive sewage spill notifications by phone, text or email.

New Publications Available

Two new Division of Water publications are now available on the DEC website. Protect Our Waters: Funding and Assistance for Planting Riparian Buffers (PDF, 801 KB) describes the variety of federal, state and local technical assistance and funding programs for landowners, municipalities and conservation organizations to plant riparian buffers to improve water quality and wildlife habitat.

Volunteer for WAVE (Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators) (PDF, 1 MB) describes the WAVE program, a citizen science stream monitoring program run by the Division of Water. Although the 2017 WAVE sampling season started July 1, it’s not too late to participate (contact wave@dec.ny.gov).

Harmful Algal Bloom Notifications

New waterbodies with harmful algal blooms have been added today, July 21, to DEC’s Harmful Algal Blooms Notifications webpage.

This week, 12 waterbodies were added to the notification list. There are currently 39 waterbodies with blooms on the list.

What’s the difference between freshwater and marine blooms?

Did you know that HABs can form in marine waters? In freshwater, cyanobacteria form HABs, but in marine waters different algae cause blooms.

Marine HABs may color the water red or brown and are often referred to as "red tide" or "brown tide." These algae may also produce biotoxins that are harmful to humans and marine organisms. However, some blooms that color the water are harmless. For more information about marine blooms, visit DEC's Harmful Algal Blooms and Marine Biotoxins webpage.

Avoid and Report Suspected Blooms

Because waterbodies may have harmful algal blooms that have not been reported to DEC, we recommend avoiding contact with floating mats, scum and discolored water.

If you suspect you have seen a harmful algal bloom, or you, your family, or pet has been in contact with a harmful algal bloom, please follow the instructions for reporting a bloom to DEC. If you see it, avoid it and report it!