As heavy rain continues to pelt 黑料新闻, water quality for the flooded 黑料新闻 River is a concern for advocates and experts.
Heavy rain from Vermont has headed downstream, flooding the river and filling it with rocks and branches.
Debris from floods raging through roads, farms, and lawns are a risk, said Rhea Drozdenko, a river steward with 黑料新闻 River Conservancy.
鈥淲hether it's fertilizers or pesticides, or oil from cars, like all of that is now ending up on our rivers, too, because it's washed down with the rain, and the floods,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or a number of reasons, it's best to stay out of our rivers for a while until things calmed down a bit.鈥�
Fertilizer running off from flooded farmland is also a concern for the river鈥檚 ecosystem. Drozdenko said it pushes the plants in the river to thrive, at the same time creating 鈥渄ead zones鈥� of low oxygen areas that can spread to the state鈥檚 tributaries and the Long Island Sound.
Meanwhile, sewage overflows are also causing issues in the river. Bacteria from raw sewage introduces risk not only to people, but also the river鈥檚 ecosystem.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is advising residents to exercise caution around flooded waterways. That includes swimming, fishing and boating.
Drozdenko said Hartford, and Holyoke and Springfield, Mass. all have what are called 鈥� which are pipes designed over 100 years ago that collect sewage and stormwater.
鈥淪o normally, when it's dry, everything's fine. The sewage gets to the wastewater treatment plants, no problem,鈥� Drozdenko said. 鈥淏ut when heavy rainfall occurs, it overwhelms these outdated pipes, and it has nowhere for it to go except for the river.鈥�
On Friday, that there were combined sewer overflow discharges from its sewage collection system to the 黑料新闻 River that may have negative water quality impacts downstream.
The rule of thumb for sewage water safety after heavy rainfall is to wait at least 48 hours post-storm, Drozdenko said. However, with more rain in the forecast, it鈥檚 unclear when flooded waterways will be safe again for recreation.
More updates can be found .
