It’s raining, it’s pouring — the waste is flowing

Most 16-year-olds don’t spend much time thinking about sewage, yet I find myself doing exactly that. Most mornings, I go on a run by the Hudson River. Damp grass stretching by me on one side, rippling water on the other, it’s quite peaceful- until the wind shifts and the smell of human excrement hits me.

Twenty-one billion gallons of untreated wastewater are discharged into New York City waterways each year due to combined sewer overflow, or CSO. Four-hundred-fifty-five million gallons alone enter the Bronx River, reports the Bronx River Alliance. Overall, CSO plagues about 60 percent of the city. Sewage and stormwater are carried together along a 150-year-old pipe network; thus, heavy rains and snowfall swiftly overwhelm the system. So, while April showers bring May flowers, they can also bring a torrent of waste into our bodies of water.

Beyond unpleasant stenches, CSO poses an acute public health risk. Contact with contaminated waters can expose residents to bacteria, viruses and pathogens such as hepatitis, pinkeye, meningitis and more. Thus, advisories are commonly used for risk prevention. Just weeks ago, the New York State Department of Health issued a health advisory following a power failure at a Yonkers wastewater treatment plant. Partially treated wastewater was discharged into the Hudson River, raising public health concerns for communities downstream. Recreational activities near the river were discouraged — an unwelcome addition to the severe heat and Fourth of July festivities.

Warning against water contact for at least 48 hours provides short-term relief. Nevertheless, advisories are not foolproof — merely a band-aid plastered over the bullet hole of pollution.

In fact, the general approach seems to be a relaxation of standards rather than an improvement in sanitation. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation originally classified the Harlem River as Class SB: suitable for “primary and secondary contact recreation,” which includes swimming. Effective October 15, 2025, the classification was changed to Class SB-WW: safe for recreational activities, but not after heavy rains or wet weather conditions. Must clean water come with caveats?

The emerging solution to the issue is green infrastructure. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection estimates that relying on extensive, traditional sewer replacements would cost up to $30 billion. This demand for space and resources would place a significant strain on local residents but could be averted with a more cost-friendly path forward: a nature trail, you might say. Rain gardens, stormwater planters, permeable pavement and drainage corridors capture rainfall before it overwhelms sewers, reducing overflows while making a neighborhood greener and more resilient.

New Yorkers already contend with soaring housing costs, traffic, delayed trains and flooding. Untreated sewage has no place on that list. Clean waterways should be the standard after every storm — not an aspiration.

Ela Oksoy is a senior at the High School of American Studies at Lehman College and a student researcher with a particular interest in urban water quality and sustainability.

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