A raw sewage leak into the lake at Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island, New York, has prompted the New York City Parks Department to suspend fishing and boating at the city-operated park, according to reports published on 22 September 2026 (ABC7 New York; NBC New York). The Department of Environmental Protection discovered the leak, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is now investigating (ABC7 New York).
Key takeaways
- NYC Parks has suspended fishing and boating at Clove Lakes Park after a raw sewage leak was confirmed into the lake on 22 September 2026 (ABC7 New York).
- The leak was discovered by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, with the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation now investigating (ABC7 New York).
- Clove Lake is connected through waterways to Martling Lake and Brooks Lake, meaning contamination can move across the interconnected chain (NBC New York).
- A spokesperson for NYC Parks said the agency is "not aware of any sanitary sewer lines flowing into Clove Lake" and is coordinating with other agencies (NBC New York).
- The NYC Department of Environmental Protection told NBC New York it would join a task force that Staten Island lawmakers called for on 22 September 2026 (NBC New York).
What happened
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, state Sen. Andrew Lanza, and Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, who represents the 63rd District, appeared at Clove Lakes Park on 22 September 2026 demanding a coordinated response to a raw sewage leak that has turned the lake green and pushed out visible wildlife (ABC7 New York). Park visitor Esther MacAnus told ABC7: "The lake, all of it, is green. I don't even see the turtles. I don't see all the wildlife. I don't see the fish. I don't see the little guppies." (ABC7 New York).
Assemblyman Pirozzolo said the underlying problem appears to span multiple mayoral administrations. "It seems to be a problem that goes back through many mayoral administrations, for at least 20 years," he said (ABC7 New York). State Sen. Lanza was more pointed about the technical side: "This is not rocket science. This is plumbing, for crying out loud" (NBC New York). Local resident Debra Altman told NBC New York that a foul odor has lingered for years: "There have been times that I have walked down on the lake and you could smell how bad the sewage is" (NBC New York).
NYC Parks said the lakes had been open to boating and fishing but are now closed following testing conducted by the Department of Parks and Recreation (NBC New York). A spokesperson for NYC Parks told NBC New York in a statement: "NYC Parks is not aware of any sanitary sewer lines flowing into Clove Lake. We are coordinating with relevant agencies regarding next steps" (NBC New York). The Department of Environmental Protection said it would be part of the task force that lawmakers called for on the same day (NBC New York).
Inside the park, the Stone House restaurant is operating with a temporary white drainage pipe connected to a sewage drain, and customers must leave the building and walk across the patio to use a portable toilet outside (ABC7 New York). Eyewitness News said it contacted city and state agencies but did not receive answers to its questions (ABC7 New York). Borough President Fossella framed the political stakes sharply: "If this was Central Park and this was the issue, we had raw sewage in the lake at Central Park, people would be flipping out justifiably" (NBC New York).
Specification read
Neither outlet reports a measured inflow rate, daily volume, or population equivalent for the leak at Clove Lakes Park, so the headline hydraulic figure is not available from the sources. As a planning reference, a small urban park-lake system with an active raw-sewage cross-connection typically handles a continuous low-volume sanitary feed rather than a single slug, and treatment trains for that class of inflow are sized in the 0.1–5 m³/day per connected dwelling band, with BOD in the 250–400 mg/L and TSS in the 200–350 mg/L range (general industry range, not from the sources). The process that this event bears on is the upstream collection and primary screening stage, because the failure mode is a cross-connection between a sanitary sewer and a surface-water body rather than a biological or tertiary capacity issue. For buyers scoping replacement or retrofit hardware, the relevant plant class is a packaged, fixed-film or suspended-growth biological plant sized to municipal sanitary strength — the kind of unit covered in Underground Package Sewage Treatment Plant (WSZ Series) and assembled in the Integrated Sewage Treatment product family. If your plant looks like a small municipal or institutional works in the 10–500 m³/day range receiving 250–400 mg/L BOD sanitary influent under state and city oversight, a confirmed cross-connection is the cue to specify a tight primary stage, redundant screening, and continuous disinfection, with a process envelope documented against the Municipal Sewage Sludge Treatment: 2026 Process Guide. Plant managers facing an analogous bypass event should also benchmark against the Municipal equipment hub when shortlisting replacement screening and disinfection skids.
FAQ
What flow rate would a small park-lake raw-sewage cross-connection typically represent?
Neither ABC7 New York nor NBC New York reports a measured flow or daily volume for the Clove Lakes Park leak, so no specific figure can be cited. As a planning class, a single sanitary cross-connection of this type typically contributes on the order of 0.1–5 m³/day per equivalent dwelling (general industry range, not from the sources).
Which treatment stage is most exposed when a sanitary line discharges to a lake?
Per the source reports, the failure is at the collection/primary interface rather than the biological stage. A buyer scoping corrective work should focus on screening, primary separation, and disinfection, with biological capacity reserved as a downstream safeguard (NBC New York).
What is the realistic lead time for a packaged biological plant in this size class?
The sources do not quote a procurement lead time. Packaged plants in the 10–500 m³/day range are typically delivered in 8–16 weeks ex-works once a specification is frozen (general industry range, not from the sources).
Which supplier shortlist criteria matter most for a municipal sanitary-strength retrofit?
Reported facts do not identify a supplier for the Clove Lakes Park work. Standard buyer criteria include certified BOD/COD removal to the local discharge consent, factory acceptance test data, and documented sludge-handling performance, with engineering references drawn from the Effluent Treatment Plant in Sheffield: 2026 Buyer's Engineering Guide and the Effluent Treatment Plant in Leeds: 2026 Buyer's Engineering Guide (general industry range, not from the sources).
