Extraordinary estuary

Mapping the Hudson Estuary's submerged lands, JW Ladd et al.

PCBs in the Hudson River: Role of sediments, EA Garvey et al.

Hudson River restoration: Role of natural resources trustees, TM Brosnan et al.

Ecosystem indicators for Lake Ontario, F Luckey et al.

Effect of lower chlorine dosage at Buffalo WWTP, KN Irvine et al.

Livestock waste management and lake rehabilitation, CB Lind

President's message

Executive director's message

Plant profiles
   Southtowns STP
   Big Sisters STP
   Lacawana STP
   Holland TP

People and places

Spring 2002 — Vol. 32, No. 1

Henry Hudson's Half Moon

In both history and geography, the Hudson River defines eastern New York State. In 1609, Henry Hudson explored the region. Before his time, some natives knew the river as Muhheakantuck, “river that flows two ways.”

The Hudson drains 13,360 mi² as it flows 315 mi from the Adirondack Mountains to the New York Harbor. On average it discharges 683 m³/s of freshwater. The Hudson is more an estuary than a river. The salt front from the Atlantic Ocean reaches about 50 north of the Battery, and the tidal influence reaches as far north as Troy, 150 miles north of the Harbor.

The mixing of saline, brackish, and fresh waters provides a varied and complex habitat for plants and wildlife. Over 200 species of fish, nearly 150 species of resident and migrating birds, and many other species use the Hudson Valley for breeding, feeding, or migration. Thirty-four areas are designated Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats (19 NYCRR 602), and four locations are included in a National Estuarine Research Reserve (Coastal Zone Management Act, NOAA). Because it sustains commercially important fish species, the Hudson is designated Essential Fish Habitat (National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA).

The river's position, connecting New York Harbor with a fertile interior, made it consequential for commerce. It truly shaped New York State and the eastern U.S. Because of this role, the Hudson River Valley below Troy is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unfortunately, this stretch of the river and more has also been designated as a Superfund site. From the 1940s to 1977, two electrical capacitor manufacturing plants located at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, NY discharged 100 to 600 tons of PCBs to the river. Sediment, water, and biota are polluted with PCBs, and floodplains are also affected.

In February 2002, USEPA directed GE, owner of the manufacturing plants, to implement one of the largest ever dredging operations to remove PCB-contaminated sediments from limited reaches of the river. The USEPA plan is not universally embraced, and many residents of the affected area fear the disruption and possible adverse environmental effects of the operation. The latest chapter of this great river is yet unfinished.

——Editor

Thanks to Thomas M. Brosnan of NOAA for background.