Officials Tout Cleanliness Of New York City Waterways
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Officials in New York are touting the cleanliness of the city's waterways.
Mayor Bill de Blasio declares New York's harbor is healthier that it's been in more than a century.
The city has been monitoring the harbor's water since 1909. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza says his scientists collect samples from 89 stations in the harbor and its tributaries as well.
"There have been surveys done by vessels," he said. "Folks go out on a boat, they take samples. They look at coliform bacteria, they look at dissolved oxygen."
The National Resources Defense Council, while acknowledging the city has made substantial progress, says every year 20 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted runoff find their way into the city's rivers, harbors, and bays.
