Our waterways face a number of threats from existing contamination to potential pollution.

From the dawn of the Industrial Revolution until the reforms of the environmental movement, the Hudson River and its tributaries were used as a dumping ground for waste. Various industries dumped dyes, paints, solvents, petroleum, heavy metals, and a host of chemicals, some of which resist breaking down naturally and remain in the water or sediment, in the tissues of fish, and in the communities of the Hudson Valley. While important regulations like the Clean Water Act have stemmed the tide of much of this pollution, there is still a great deal of work to do cleaning up our rivers, canals, and streams, as well as protecting them from future contamination.

The Hudson River itself is one of the nation’s largest Superfund sites thanks to General Electric’s dumping of PCBs, a “forever chemical” that still makes many of the river’s fish unsafe to eat. Connected waterways like the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek in New York City are home to some of the most notorious contamination hotspots, with a dangerous mix of contaminants in sediment coupled with regular doses of raw sewage. Other pockets of contamination in the Hudson remain to be addressed, including coal tar in Poughkeepsie, and PCBs in Hastings.

These threats exist not only for wildlife, but also for our drinking water. The more recent regulation of PFAS — another “forever chemical” — has revealed a host of contaminated sites affecting drinking water sources, including Stewart Air National Guard Base near Newburgh, and Westchester Airport.

In addition, numerous incidents over the years have shown us that the transport via railcar and cargo ship of oil, gas, and toxic chemicals on and near waterways can end in disaster.