Thursday, October 1, 2026
The barrier island's north shore experienced a brief influx of contaminants after the city's water treatment plant overflowed into Reynolds Channel last week. Over the course of 15 minutes, the facility, located at the north end of National Boulevard near the bay, was flooded with nearly 30,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater.
At 10:30 a.m., May 17, a plant operator failed to secure a valve, which led to a secondary tank backflowing into a primary processing tank. By 3:30 p.m., an alert was issued through New York State's NY Alert system and clean-up had already begun. Despite a quick response, a portion of undisinfected material made its way into local waters.
At the May 19 City Council meeting, City Manager Daniel Creighton addressed the incident. "The Department of Public Works followed all protocols and regulations, and was in close coordination with the proper authorities," Creighton explained. "An alert was sent out and remained in effect for 24 hours. The plant is running normal at this time and there is no residual impact."
While roughly 10,000 gallons were handled on-site, the remaining 20,000 gallons of overflow found its way into the channel via storm drains, where it diluted into the waterway, which contains more than 2 billion gallons of water.
"No immediate impacts to wildlife or marine life were observed," wrote the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in a statement discussing the event. "On [May 21], the city completed flushing and cleaning the entire length of impacted storm sewers and all catch basins that were intermittently discharging an unknown amount of residual partially digested sludge along the route of the sewers into Reynolds Channel. There are no further impacts to Reynolds Channel."
Local residents had mixed opinions regarding its potential effects. "We take our kids down in Point Lookout, to Buoy Bar and some of the other places where they will play in that water," said Dee Santos, a local mother. "It's certainly a concern. We live in the Canals, my family, so it's something we would like to know."
Mike Byrne, a Baldwin resident who frequents East Marina in Point Lookout up to three times per week in the summer said he's "just a cabin cruiser guy," not a fisherman. "The water looks pretty good," explained Byrne. "It's still pretty blue. I didn't smell anything and never saw anything."
In 2025, a DEC report listed Reynolds Channel as being "impaired" — not suitable — for fishing or swimming due to elevated nitrogen levels. The state agency said it will continue to monitor the area after the recent spill. To receive alerts about instances of major events throughout the state, including weather warnings, major traffic closures, and hazardous material spills, visit alert.ny.gov.
