Swim season on the Hudson - Water Quality Update
June 23, 2022
Dan Shapley
Senior Director of Advocacy, Policy and Planning
In the 50th anniversary year of the Clean Water Act, it’s important to celebrate the successes that have allowed people to experience the joy of open water swimming.
The open water swim season kicked into high gear this month, with the marathon 20 Bridges Swim around Manhattan, the Sleepy Hollow Sprint Triathlon, Brooklyn Bridge Swim and the 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim - the longest open water swim event in the world. In July, the New York City Triathlon and Great Hudson River Swim anchor the open water swim event calendar.
Public beaches at Croton Point, Kingston Point and Ulster Landing have opened, while the Beacon RiverPool is closed this season for repairs.
In this, the 50th anniversary year of the Clean Water Act, it’s important to celebrate the successes that have allowed people to experience the joy of open water swimming.
We’re also tracking some setbacks, including the New York City’s unfortunate decision to close its outdoor pools and cancel many youth swimming programs, and Westchester County’s closure of Croton Point Beach on Memorial Day weekend after a failure at the county’s sewage treatment plant in Yonkers.
In the longer-term we need to see more public access to safe public bathing facilities, and cleaner water. That will take updating antiquated sewage infrastructure in the Hudson River watershed, at a cost of at least $2.4 billion. It will also take improving key pieces of Clean Water Act implementation, with updated standards that support recreational use of the water, and active assessment to understand where water does or does not meet those standards.
You can help by taking action today by urging Governor Hochul to sign an important law that will expand protections for many New York State streams. By taking a watershed approach to protections, we can better protect habitat, reduce runoff and prevent erosion that impact recreational waters.
Find the latest water quality data for the Hudson Estuary, Upper Hudson, New York City, Mohawk River, and many of the Hudson’s tributaries at riverkeeper.org, as well as reports that describe water quality patterns that help you make informed choices about where and when to get in the water.
This is the latest blog post in our Do People Swim in the Hudson River? series. Follow these links for posts about the Hudson’s progress 50 years after the Clean Water Act, event swimming, unofficial swimming areas, paddling and how water quality and climate change affect the Hudson’s official bathing beaches.
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Related campaigns
Water quality monitoring
Riverkeeper is the go-to source for information about the quality of the water along the Hudson River and its tributaries
Swimming and public access
Working to make it safe and free for everyone to swim in the Hudson