N.Y. water board: Tuesday rain created ‘overflow scenario’
‘‘ “This was not a discharge situation.” Niagara Falls, N.Y., water board spokesman
During the same week the Niagara Falls, N.Y., water board announced a “culture shift” to prevent a repeat of last summer’s embarrassing sewage discharges into the Niagara River, some passengers on the Maid of the Mist were surprised to see more discoloured water pouring into the river Tuesday night.
A video posted on the Niagara History and Trivia Facebook page shows rancid-looking water flowing into the river, directly into the path of the tourist boat.
But while it seemed a repeat of last July 29, when raw sewage created a gigantic black pool near the Maid of the Mist dock, the water board insists Tuesday’s discharge was an “overflow scenario” resulting from a “standard wet weather event.”
“This was not a discharge situation,” said a water board spokesman in an emailed statement when contacted Wednesday. “In New York State, much of the storm and sewer water infrastructure runs in a combined system format, and can therefore be overwhelmed due to heavy volumes. This results in such waters bypassing the treatment process and being overflowed into various locations, such as the Lower Niagara River.”
The spokesman described the overflow as “a combination of storm water and sewer water.”
On Monday, the water board invited media to tour its Niagara Falls plant to view the new equipment and treatment chemicals installed to prevent more discharges.
The board was fined $50,000 by New York State following the July 29 incident. Two more discharges occurred in August and October.