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TOXIC SEWAGE CAKES BACK IN THE BAY Here is further proof that you take your health at jeopardy every time you enter our waters in the Raritan Bay – Sandy Hook Bay watershed region. Once again during autumn beach clean ups people found plenty of sewage or sludge cakes. Last year around the same tome of the year people also found heaps of sludge cakes along our bay beaches. I can personally state that I found up to a dozen sludge cakes in Atlantic Highlands , near the mouth of Many Mind Creek. In fact, one cake was up to 2 feet long and a foot in width. People also found numerous cakes in Port Monmouth, near Pews Creek, and other people reported finding a great deal of sewage cakes in Union Beach. I have heard these nasty cakes been termed “wastewater greaseballs,” “soap cakes,” or “sludge cakes.” Yet, no matter what you call them they are still sickening source of noxious pollution on our bay beaches. The balls or cakes are a combination of human waste materials, such as human excrement, human hair, soap, oil and grease, or anything else that goes down someone’s sink or flushed down the toilet. As you might expect, the cakes may also contain a high amount of bacteria. (A disgusting toxic sewage cake found at the Bayshore Waterfront Park in Port Monmouth on October 29. They look like a loaf of white lard or cottage cheese, but up close they smell like human waste.) Untreated or partially treated sewage can contain organic and inorganic materials that can be hazardous to both humans and other life forms that come into contact with the substance. The water pollution and costs from sewage cakes can be huge and include health concerns, reduced water-based recreation and tourism opportunities, decreased real estate values, damage to habitat of fish and other aquatic organisms, and the unavoidable costs of clean-up. While no one as of yet can point to one place where these sewage cakes are coming from, due to all the rain we experienced in October their source is likely from CSOs (Combined Sewer Overflows) from the New York City metro region, Newark-Jersey City metro region, and communities around the Arthur Kill and Raritan River. Combined sewer overflows occur during storm events when a mixture of raw wastewater and stormwater overspill and exceed a city’s sewer collection system before receiving treatment. This noxious mixture of bacteria, raw sewage, and street runoff directly enters a waterway. These discharges of untreated wastewater violate both state and federal clean water pollution laws. Yet, because of the tremendous cost to fix this problem, nearly $6 billion, many cities have not mitigated the problem. In the New York City metro area alone there are up to 900 CSO sites. Yet, this issue really needs to be addressed now. The people in the Bayshore region should not be forced to deal with people’s raw sewage from places not even in Monmouth County. It is an outrage and we should not have to live like this! (Sewage cakes can come in different sizes and shapes. Most, however, are larger than a quarter.) Rainfall-induced discharges of pollutants and pathogenic contamination is by far one of the most serious issues we face in improving the health of our bay waters. Because of combined sewer overflows, the Raritan Bay – Sandy Hook Bay watershed region lacks widespread, safe beaches for swimming, and is short of widespread, year-round productive shellfish harvesting waters. Yet, there has been a sharp increase in litter, trash, floatables, and toxic material on our beaches. This should not be case. If you spot a sewage cake, do not touch them with your hands or exposed skin, since they can have a high amount of bacteria. Record the exact location of the cake and contact the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. NJDEP has established a toll-free telephone hotline number that you can use to report environmental incidents, abuses, and complaints: 1-877-WARNDEP Also contact the Monmouth County Health Department, and the NY-NJ Baykeeper. Their contact information is below: Monmouth County Health Dept . - (732)431-7456 or at http://www.shore.co.monmouth.nj.us/health/24hrResponse.htm NY-NJ Baykeeper – (732) 888.9870 or http://www.nynjbaykeeper.org/ | ||||||||
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