Ossining Sewage Leak Closes Sleepy Hollow Beach

SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. — The Philipse Manor Beach Club is once again closed to swimming because of a sewage leak spilling into the Hudson River.

This is the second time in less than a month that swimming has been prohibited because of a sewage leak. The Westchester County Department of Health shut down the beach Thursday afternoon after a tree fell and hit an 18-inch sewer main in Ossining located near Water St. and Central Ave.

Swimmers, kayakers and other recreation seekers are being advised to avoid direct contact with river water. Officials estimated about 1.5 million gallons of sewage per day is discharging into the Hudson River from the broken pipe’s location along Killbrook Creek.

“As repairs to the broken line in Ossining are still ongoing, we really just don't know at this point how long the prohibition against swimming will be in effect,” Philipse Manor Beach Club President Burns Patterson said in an email Thursday afternoon. “We will continue to permit picnicking (but no swimming) and hope that we can safely resume swimming in the near future.”

Health officials tested the water Thursday and are expected to release an updated advisory sometime on Friday.

Thursday’s sewage leak comes approximately three weeks after a wastewater treatment plant in New York City caught fire and began spilling sewage into the Hudson River on July 20. Health officials issued several advisories against direct water contact after that leak. The Philipse Manor Beach Club shut down its beach to swimming over the weekend.

Patterson described the series of sewage leaks as “frustrating” and said there needs to be more done to keep the river safe from contamination, but he hasn’t seen feedback from club members who are discouraged enough because of the leaks to give up their membership.

The Philipse Manor Beach Club “remains a wonderful spot on the Hudson,” Patterson said. “We'll just have to continue an active program of water testing and perhaps lobby public officials for improved safeguards against sewage overflows—which would benefit the overall tourism, fishing and recreation industry and economy of the region and maintain an improved quality of life.”

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