Clean-water coalition urges Westchester to move faster on sewer consolidation and public testing after spills

Representatives of the Westchester Coalition for Clean Water and allied groups told legislators the county's fragmented sewer ownership and aging collection systems are contributing to repeated discharges and degraded river water. Tracy Brown (Riverkeeper) said some county-owned plants still rely on antiquated infrastructure that "dumps partially treated sewage into the Hudson River every time it rains," and she urged consolidation and investment so communities can reclaim beaches and river access.

Several other witnesses expanded on the problem. Nancy Sigelson asked that the county release the Arcadis consolidation reports it contracted and said the county’s decision to pause a New Rochelle pilot until municipalities invest additional millions has stalled progress. Josh Pearson described combined sewer overflows (CSOs) at the Yonkers plant, estimating recent annual discharges between "128,000,000 gallons to over 1,000,000,000 gallons" and called for a joint long-term control plan. Faye Serafika recounted a July 3 plant failure that she said sent "39,000,000 gallons of untreated sewage" into the Hudson and criticized delays in county testing and public notification; she asked for daily testing until clean conditions are restored after such events.

Speakers urged the Board to direct the law department to draft county legislation after the 2025 state enabling law and to prioritize a countywide approach to sewer consolidation, monitoring, and public communication. No formal county action was recorded on July 20 to adopt consolidation legislation; the topic appears as policy recommendations for future committee work.