In April, over 7,100 gallons of raw sewage spilled into Flushing Bay due to a burst pipe from the Tallman Island Wastewater Facility. Local residents expressed anger at the lack of effective communication from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which only notified locals through the obscure NYAlert text service, rather than a more public means. Community members rely on the waters for activities such as fishing and kayaking, and felt unprotected due to the inadequate warning about the hazardous water contamination. Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of the current notifications for future incidents.
We're using these waters for recreation. We're doing beach cleanups to dragon boating, kayaking, fishing and we should have a way of knowing what's happening with our waterways other than some obscure messaging system that I guess you have to sign up for - if you are lucky enough to even know that the system exists.
As for our communications with the authorities and community, an immediate notification was made to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as required by law. A notification was also sent out via NY-Alert, as well as posted online.
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