Earlier today some
the DEP released a
non-hazardous green dye into the East River at 51st Avenue and 2nd Street in Long Island City. A spokesperson from the DEP tells us it was just standard procedure to identify the location of "outfall pipe," which she described as a sewer pipe that releases sewage "during a heavy rainfall event." Old timers may recall that during the 2003 blackout, 30 million gallons of untreated human waste went into the East River because the DEP's backup generators didn't work. The DEP declined to elaborate on why exactly they're running the test today, but maybe the power outages had something to do with it.
