7/29/2011 Update: Read Riverkeeper’s blog for an update on last week’s no-swim ban on the Hudson River.

Nyack, July 28 — The Rockland County Department of Health has lifted the Hudson River advisory regarding  swimming, fishing, kayaking and any direct contact with the Hudson River. The river ban, first announced on July 22, was put into effect after a fire damaged a treatment plant on the West side of Manhattan causing sewage to be discharged directly into the river.

Residents can now resume recreational activities that involve incidental contact with the Hudson River such as windsurfing, kayaking, boating and fishing.

Riverkeeper, whose assessment of the Hudson differed from the NYS DEC earlier in the week, is giving a cautious thumbs-up to the “all clear” announcment.  “Our position is that the advisory being lifted from the North River STP incident is fine, but based on rain we’ve had in the past few days, there still may be microbial counts in the water,” says Riverkeeper spokesperson Tina Posterli.

See also:

• Blog update from Riverkeeper, Lamont Doherty and Queens College, 7/28/2011
• Riverkeeper NYC Sewage Treatment Plant Discharge, 7/26/2011
• Rock Co, NYC says: Don’t Swim In the Hudson, 7/22/2011
• On the Hudson, With the Water-Quality Mavens, NYT 7/24/2011