I grew up singing songs like “Where have all the Flowers Gone” and “If I had a Hammer” by Pete Seeger. He was a large part of my childhood memories through that song. I watched him perform at Vassar College and he even came to my school play to watch us play characters all focused around the Hudson River. The Hudson River was a large part of his focus and therefore, a large part of my childhood. It is a large part of any City of Poughkeepsie resident’s childhood regardless of whether they grew up singing Pete Seeger songs. The river is the center of the city. It is where we get our water from. It is also a place of recreation. Waryas Park and the Mid Hudson Children’s Museum sit on the river as well as a host of restaurants. On top of that, there is an old riverboat and dinner cruises that run on the river. More recently, we have The Walkway over the Hudson going across it. There are so many things surrounding the Hudson River because it is the heart of Poughkeepsie.
That in mind, we don’t necessarily treat it well. Trash is ending up in our water. When it ends up in our water it makes breeding for mosquitoes 100 times faster. These mosquitoes could be carrying things like Lyme Disease which we all know is a huge issue in the Hudson Valley. There is also the issue of chemicals that end up in the water through items like batteries or commercial cleaning products. Improper waste of things such as motor oil can also be carried to the river by runoff. Anything dumped on land that is soluble will end up in the groundwater and, eventually, it will end up in the river.
In July of this year, 115,100 gallons of untreated wastewater were spilled into the Hudson River. Also during July, 27 mid-Hudson Valley sites were found to be illegally dumping by the organization TrashNet. TrashNet was an operation put into motion by Governor Cuomo in early 2017. From Long Island to the mid-Hudson Valley, 81 illegal dumping sites were found, 12 companies were charged, and 24 alleged illegal dumpers were arrested. This is just being cracked down on but it is still a major issue for our health and the health of the Hudson River. More needs to be investigated and anyone who sees or knows about illegal dumping should contact the NYSDEC 24-hour Poacher and Polluter hotline at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267).
