The Hudson River is not your typical river. In fact, most of the Hudson is actually a tidal estuary where salt water from the ocean combines with freshwater from northern tributaries. This “brackish”, or mixing, water extends from the mouth of the Hudson in NY Harbor to the Federal Dam in Troy, approximately 153 miles.

The salt front of the estuary, where the freshwater runoff meets the saline water, can range from the Tappan Zee Bay near Tarrytown/Nyack in the spring to Newburgh Bay in Poughkeepsie/Newburgh in the late summer or during droughts.

Because the Hudson River is a tidal estuary, meaning it ebbs and flows with the ocean tide, it supports a biologically rich environment, making it an important ecosystem for various species of aquatic life. For many key species, it provides critical habitats and essential spawning and breeding grounds.

To learn more about the unique regions of the Hudson River take A Hudson River Journey.

History

More than nine million people living in New York City, Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Ulster Counties enjoy clean, unfiltered drinking water from the Croton, Catskill and Delaware Watersheds. The 6,000-mile network of pipes, shafts and subterranean aqueducts carries approximately 1.2 billion gallons of pristine water each day from 19 upstate reservoirs.

It is a remarkable engineering achievement and the single largest man-made financial asset in New York State. But, today the city’s reservoir infrastructure is in serious trouble, as is its ability to continue supplying New Yorkers with water.

Many of the nation’s water systems are over 100 years old and in a state of grave neglect. Between 23,000 and 75,000 combined sewage overflows occur each year as a result of failing infrastructure, spilling out 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage annually and incurring $50.6 billion in clean up costs.

Protection

Riverkeeper believes that access to clean, affordable drinking water must be a human right. In the interest of protecting human health and preserving freshwater ecosystems, filtration of public drinking water supplies should be considered as a last resort to be employed only when an unfiltered water supply poses an imminent threat to public health. Sound watershed protection programs not only safeguard human health and aquatic life but also are vastly more economical than filtration.

Public Access

Riverkeeper generally supports expanded opportunities for low-impact, passive recreation that is compatible with watershed protection goals on water supply lands. It is through use and enjoyment of our shared resources that people become invested in their long-term protection.

Our Story

In 1966, the Hudson River was dying from pollution and neglect. Run-down factories choked it with hazardous waste, poisoning fish, threatening drinking water supplies, and ruining world-class havens for boating and swimming. Sadly, America’s “First River” had become little more than an industrial sewer.

At that time, the Hudson River fishermen decided they had enough. Because their catch reeked from oil spilled daily into the river, they banded together to use a decades-old federal law to the tide from ruin to recovery.

This was the founding of the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association – now Riverkeeper. Today, Riverkeeper continues its fight, seeking out polluters and teaming with citizen scientists and activists to reclaim the Hudson River. And, we also work to ensure that over nine million New Yorkers have clean, safe drinking water. Today, pollution levels are down, and swimming and boating are back.

But the Hudson’s recovery is still fragile, still incomplete. Some fish species have not recovered, and many remain too toxic to eat; pollution levels spike with every rainfall. Mammoth cuts in government spending threaten to reverse a half-century of water quality gains, and we face the challenges of antiquated power plants, climate change, and emerging, harmful pollutants.

Riverkeeper’s vision is of a Hudson teeming with life, with engaged communities boating, fishing and swimming throughout its watershed.

Here’s what Riverkeeper stands for:

• Guarding your waterways. Riverkeeper holds polluters accountable, making the Hudson safer and cleaner each year. We patrol the river, inform the public, and go to court whenever it’s necessary, to eliminate illegal contamination.
• Defending clean drinking water. Community water supplies are increasingly threatened by pollution and shortage. Riverkeeper empowers citizens to make their voices heard and assure that their precious drinking water resources stay clean and plentiful. Our locally-based “water democracy” approach gets results.
• Finding solutions. Riverkeeper fights threats to clean water like destructive power plants, reckless development and decrepit infrastructure. We also specialize in solutions: we improve wildlife habitat, foster sustainable energy, increase investment in water supply/sewer systems, and rally thousands of volunteers to restore their local river fronts.

“Our strategy for success hasn’t changed much since we started out as the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association in 1966: Support the grassroots. Be data driven. Don’t flinch when the going gets tough.” – Paul Gallay, President and Hudson Riverkeeper