DEP Warns Residents To Stay Out Of Gravesend Bay Due To A Sewer Break

Due to a sewer break on 92nd Street and Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, there is currently an intermittent discharge of sewage into Gravesend Bay from an outfall near Bay 17th Street.

Beginning today and extending until further notice, Gravesend Bay, which includes the waters from Coney Island Creek to the Verrazano Bridge, is not fit for recreational activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing or any other water activity that would entail possible direct contact with the water until the recommended use restriction is lifted. Also, eating fish caught from these areas is not recommended for anyone until the pollution advisory is resolved.

It is recommended that individuals catch and release fish back into the water.

Water quality testing and modeling by the New York City Departments of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Environmental Protection (DEP) show that it is safe to swim at all permitted beaches in Brooklyn and Staten Island, just not Gravesend Bay.

DEP installed emergency pipes and pumps to divert flow away from Gravesend Bay and end the discharge. DEP is also providing emergency chlorination to disinfect the sewage before it reaches the Bay 17th Street outfall.

They hope to lift the ban shortly.