Wading In A 'Lost River' Finds A Whole Other World Worth Saving

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The Hutchinson River is sometimes referred to as the "lost river," upstaged by its namesake, the Hutchinson River Parkway, but the river remains a critical, but fragile Long Island Sound watershed.

If you live in the lower Hudson Valley, there is a very good chance you have crossed the Hutchinson River and not given it a second thought. In the minds of many commuters, the river has been reduced to something of a drainage ditch for the parkway. Those who took a much closer, eye-level look at the waterway recently, dicsovered a hidden world of nature filled with sealife, biological diversity and challenges.

It's easy to think of the narrow stretch of river in Mount Vernon near the Stadium at Memorial Field as just the ditch next to Target, but the grassroots environmental leaders who took Save the Sound up on an offer to wade into the tidal waterway, found something entirely unexpected. The surprising vibrancy of the waterway belies threats to both the ecological balance of the river and the Long Island Sound where it eventually flows.

In many ways, the health of the Hutchinson River is the health of the Sound — for those who literally waded in to see for themselves, the news wasn't exactly encouraging.

Save the Sound is developing a watershed plan for the Hutchinson River with the goal of addressing community-identified issues. Chief among those issues, identified by both the community and the state of New York is pollution. Because of this, the lower Hutchinson River can be found among the New York State's list of impaired waterbodies.

Watersheds Project Manager Nicole Davis explained to Patch that fighting the pollution problem in the river first requires understanding just how polluted the Hutchinson has gotten.

The dozen invested community members from the Bronx and Westchester, who walked through the water in waders, saw trash and debris firsthand. The riverwalkers encountered shopping carts, a wheelchair and even a bicycle.

"There are objects you wouldn’t know were there, unless you got into the river and saw it from the water’s perspective," Davis said.

Those exploring the stream also found signs of advanced riverbank erosion (a result of channelization, the straightening and deepening of channels in rivers, Davis explained).

But the news wasn't all gloom and doom. Davis said some simple changes could result in big improvements to the watershed and ultimately the nearby Long Island Sound.

"One simple measure the state can adopt to prevent further erosion is to install and protect riparian buffers along the riverbank by not mowing to the edge of the stream," Davis said. "Vegetation at the riverbank stabilizes the sediment, preventing it from falling into the water and being transported elsewhere."

Davis pointed to examples already in place surrounding a parking area near athletic fields. She added that these efforts not only protect the watershed, but also offer flood protection for neighbors.

"We want some of the small things that can really make a difference to the health of the watershed to become the norm rather than the exception," Davis said. "If every property owner thought about how rainwater drains into nearby streams, it could really affect the health of the entire watershed. It doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. The idea that we are all in this together really can effect a change."

While getting in the water gave the group an up-close look at the challenges, the walk also showed exactly how resilient Mother Nature can be.

"We found signs of wildlife everywhere, despite the river’s poor condition," New York Ecological Restoration Project Manager Megan Lung shared with Save the Sound. "We found two live blue crabs, one molt of a blue crab (the old shell of a crustacean when it has grown larger), and schools of small fish. We even saw a lone Canada goose surveying the river from a shopping cart buried in the sediment. The juxtaposition of life and pollution in one environment was powerful. I felt an even greater drive to want to improve this river after having walked through it."

The goals of the watershed plan include identifying and proposing management for pollution from runoff, mitigating flood risk, and proposing habitat restoration projects throughout the entire watershed in Westchester County.

"We are excited to be at this phase in the development of the plan, bringing people face to face with the problems we are trying to solve," Davis shared on the Save the Sound blog. "This past stream walk sparked conversations about litter, accountability, flooding, restoration opportunities, and partnerships that can help remediate those issues. We will be out in the river a few more times this fall and invite anyone who is interested in providing feedback to join us. Once you experience the problem, it’s hard to unsee it, and these events and the conversations we have during them lead to real action."

The Hutchinson River Watershed plan is a project split into two phases. Phase one focuses on the part of the watershed in Westchester County and phase two will focus on the portion in the Bronx. Phase one is being done in partnership with the Westchester County Soil & Water Conservation District housed within the Westchester County Planning Department and is funded in part by NFWF and the Owens & Minor Foundation. Phase two will begin next year and is funded by the state of New York facilitated by Assembly Member Michael Benedetto (AD-82), according to the group.

The first phase of the plan is coming to a close, according to Save the Sound, but there is still time to contribute your feedback during a second public stream walk in September, the upcoming steering committee meeting on September 13, and a public meeting presenting the first draft of the plan in November.

Anyone interested in attending any of the upcoming events, can reach out to Nicole Davis and the "Hutch team" at reducerunoff@savethesound.org.