Schumer: Out-Of-Date & Slow Water Testing At WNY Beaches Force Officials To Make Imprecise Calls - Possible That Beaches Stay Open When They Should Close & Close When They Should Stay Open

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Schumer: Out-Of-Date & Slow Water Testing At WNY Beaches Force Officials To Make Imprecise Calls - Possible That Beaches Stay Open When They Should Close & Close When They Should Stay Open

Schumer Announces Bill Requiring EPA to Develop Rapid Water Testing Methods - Will Allow WNY Officials to Make Faster, Better-Informed Decisions Schumer Also Announces New Effort to Secure Funds to Upgrade & Maintain Local Sewer Infrastructure -- Combat Bacteria Problem at its Source Schumer: We Can't Roll the Dice When It Comes To Our Economy and Health -- We Must Have Sta

As poor data from techniques that are too slow for testing bacteria levels at Western New York's beaches force beach officials to sometimes make less-than-precise decisions on beach closures, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced his push for legislation that will require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to speed up its development of rapid water testing methods that will allow Western New York beach officials to make faster and better-informed decisions on closures. Senator Schumer also announced his push to combat the bacteria problem at its source with a new push for federal funding to address Western New York's crippled sewage infrastructure.

So far this summer, high E. coli levels and high rainfall amounts have forced 16 beaches in Erie, Genesee, Monroe and Chautauqua Counties to close. Currently, however, officials do not have the technology or money to immediately test --and obtain the results from-- local beach waters following rain storms that often spike bacteria levels in the water. When pollutants and bacteria are discovered at a local beach, managers are forced to close it, which can hurt recreation and tourism. In some severe situations, the contaminants are not discovered in time to close the beach, which can sicken swimmers and surfers.

To combat the growing bacteria problem at its source and protect local residents' health and tourism economy, Schumer announced his plan to both help beach officials make swift and informed decisions on beach closures, as well as provide critical funding to help Western New York's crippled sewage infrastructure.

"We can't roll the dice when it comes to our health and economy but that's exactly what we are doing when our beach officials don't have the right technology to make quick decisions on local beach closures. We could end up closing our beaches when they should be open and keeping them open when they should be closed," Schumer said.

"Our beach officials must have the right equipment to quickly assess spikes in bacteria levels and we need to fix our aging sewers that are at the root of this problem."

Across Western New York, leaky and overflowing pipes have the capability to spew untreated sewage into local bodies of waters at Wright Park East and West, Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Camp, Cassadage Village Beach, Lake Erie State Park, Mayville Lakeside Park, among others. Across the region, towns and suburbs rely on a sewer infrastructure that, in many cases, were originally built in the early 20th century and have since then only undergone modest upgrades. It has been estimated that every month Western New York's sewer system overflows dozens of times, leading to approximately four billion gallons of raw sewage and storm water overflowing into local waterways annually. During heavy rainfalls and snowfalls, sewer lines are more likely to overflow, pouring sewage into waterways and residents' backyards and basements. E. coli in the waterways can soar to levels equivalent to that of bacteria levels in sewage.

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