Sewer break near Tarrytown prompts advisory to not enter Hudson River

Westchester County officials continue to warn people not to enter the Hudson River due to sewage discharged into the major waterway from Monday evening until Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, a 30-inch concrete force main pipe broke due to ongoing repairs at the Tarrytown Sewer Pump Station, resulting in partially treated sewage entering the Hudson near Sleepy Hollow, a county statement said.

“Due to this event, there is a probable environmental impact to the surrounding waters,” the press release said. “Contact with the sewage is a potential public health threat, so residents are advised to avoid recreational activities in the Hudson River, from Peekskill to Yonkers until further notice.”

The county Department of Health advised all recreational boaters and swimmers to refrain from activities that involve contact with the Hudson, starting Monday night until further notice. Health officials planned to collect samples of water quality on Wednesday, and they expected results on Thursday.

Based on those results, the health department said it would determine when it’s appropriate to lift the advisory.

In emailed responses to questions, Vincent Kopicki, commissioner of the county Department of Environmental Facilities, wrote that one section of 20-foot pipe was damaged.

Around 1:30 p.m. Monday, the county alerted the state Department of Environmental Conservation of the force main break at 119 Carrollwood Drive, state officials said. The county began excavating to expose the pipe around 4 p.m., and the pump station shut at approximately 5:15 p.m., Kopicki said.

While there appeared to be no active flow of sewage from the pipe break's location, he said, the sewage discharge occurs because the pump station has to be shut down to repair it.

Beginning just after 7 p.m., the sewage then had to be temporarily discharged into the Hudson at the emergency bypass outfall in Sleepy Hollow, a state alert said. The discharge had a flow rate of 2,800 gallons per minute. Flows at the station were high from recent rainfall, the alert said.

Before the sewage got into the river, county officials chlorinated it to disinfect it, Kopicki said.

The county's emergency contractor, ELQ, began repairs Monday. The Tarrytown Pumping Station was back in service at 2 p.m. Tuesday and the discharge to the Hudson ended at 3:06 p.m. Tuesday.

The county Health Department will be taking samples of enterococci, commonly traced to sewage, to determine if levels meet state sanitary codes.

There were other discharges at treatment facilities in Yonkers due to the storms, including an estimated 14 million gallons of partially treated sewage entering the Hudson near North Yonkers from the combined sewer overflow.

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For more information from the county, visit https://health.westchestergov.com.

This story was updated with information from the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.