1st Sampling Trip

Yuri and I's first sampling sampling trip took place on June 22nd. The weather for the past few weeks was dry, so we were expecting to see minimal overflow from the CSOs we planned to sample. We started off by scouting some CSOs from the sidewalk along the river. Starting at the Troy Docks, we walked down to the Riverside Park. Much to our surprise, we saw raw sewage being discharged into the Hudson at the CSO located near Dinosaur Barbecue's outside seating. 

We launched our canoe from the Ingalls Ave Boat Launch in Troy, NY (Figure 1), and took six samples; CSO 022, CSO 023, CSO 024, CSO 026, CSO 027, CSO 028 (Figure 2). CSO 025 was skipped due to the fact that we did not see it while we were paddling.

As we paddled we collected samples in sterilized bottles. The water was more or less clear, but there was a very potent smell from most of the CSOs. The samples were later placed in a refrigerator for storage.

Figure 1, Ingalls Ave Boat Launch.



 Figure 2, map and numbers of CSOs sampled. Each shape represents a CSO and its probability of overflow. Green is low, orange is medium, red is high.

CSO Locations and Monitoring System

Locations of all the CSOs in the Capital Region are shown in Figure 1, which can be found at the website for the Albany Pool Communities CSO Notification System.  CSO's are located near parks, restaurants, docks, and parking lots.  










Figure 1, a map of all of the CSOs in the Albany Pool provided by the model based monitoring system.


Green signs identifying “N.Y.S. Permitted Discharge Point” occur in pairs with one facing the river and one facing the shore (Figure 2). The signs provide two phone numbers to call for more information. There is no warning on these signs about the potential health risks either. There are 92 of these signs in the "Albany Pool;" consisting of the Cities of Albany, Troy, Rensselaer, Cohoes and Watervliet, and the Village of Green Island. 48 of them are in Troy. 

Figure 2, shows a CSO as viewed from the river. Two folding chairs, presumably used for fishing, were located almost directly above the CSO. The red circle is around the green "N.Y.S. Permitted Discharge Point" sign.


Public health officials recommended to avoid waters near CSOs 48 hours after a rain event has ended. These sites are near public spaces that are used regardless of potential health risk. Presumably, this is due to the lack of direct public notification about these discharges, the safety precautions, and the dangers. 

The Albany Pool does not actively monitor any CSOs. A predictive model was developed to estimate the probability of discharges from CCOs along the Hudson River.  The model can be publicly viewed on a website and tells the user the probability that a CSO will be discharging; either low, medium, or high. In other words, there is not live monitoring system, only the probability based on a model.


The NYS DEC offers a grant for up to $50,000 for towns to install flow monitoring devices that would permit live monitoring of CSO effluents.  Unfortunately, many municipalities do not apply for funds out of fear that the towns themselves may be saddled with expenses for installing additional monitoring devices in the future.

Reaction to Seeing CSO Discharge

This is how this research project began, seeing and smelling combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharge. The discharge includes fecal matter, used condoms, feminine products, and other materials that do not belong in any natural body of water.