You’ll Be Surprised What Areas Of The Hudson River Are Cleanest

Many Hudson Valley residents are hesitant to use the Hudson River for swimming, and with good reason.  However, there are some surprising local spots that have recently tested among the cleanest.

Every year Riverkeeper samples 74 different locations of the Hudson River from May through October. It also tests various locations along select Hudson River tributaries. This year's water quality report shows that our area was clearly hit-or-miss when it comes to clean river water.

First, the good news.  Of the top 10 locations with the lowest failure rates, several of them are right here in the Hudson Valley.  The Poughkeepsie Drinking Water Intake area, Stony Point Mid-channel and Croton Point Beach all had the lowest failures at 3%.  The Poughkeepsie Launch Ramp at Waryas Park also made the top 10 with only 8% failure rate.

On the other side of the river, however, there's much more contamination.  The top 10 Hudson Sites with the highest failure rate include the Newburgh Launch Ramp at 58%, and Kingston's Rondout Creek at 53%.

Some Hudson Valley Tributary sites were also among the cleanest, but that's not saying much.  Many tributaries have become pollution sources themselves, testing at dangerous levels.  For example, several sample sites along the Wallkill have 100% failure rates.

Check out the full water quality report here.