MORE STEPS FORWARD IN CSO NOTIFICATION

New York City's official emergency notification system delivered via email and cell phone alerts -- known as Notify NYC -- is now issuing advisories when storms cause untreated wastewater to be discharged into New York City waterways.

Notify NYC is zip-code specific; the combined sewer overflow (CSO) alerts will be further tailored to individual water bodies. The notices will give the time period that the alert will be in effect based on rainfall amounts, computer models of overflows and the volume of each water body.

You can also sign up for CSO alerts from DontFlushMe's twitter feed. For the next week, Leif Percifield, the brains behind Don't Flush Me, is raising money for his next step: a WiFi-enabled colored lightbulb, called a Visualight, that visually alerts you to possible CSO overflows. "This is the coolest geek accessory for your bathroom, boathouse, laundry room, enclosed outdoor lightfixture, or other location," he wrote in a recent email, noting that the lightbulb could have other uses, relating to weather and tides.

Focusing on Newtown Creek, Mr. Percifield assisted the Newtown Creek Alliance with its recently launched Weather in the Watershed project. New weather stations throughout the Newtown Creek watershed now measure how much rainwater is entering the sewer system. When complete, the project will result in another CSO alert system specifically for creek users.

The city-wide Notify NYC effort was produced by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and the NYC Office of Emergency Management. Debbie Mans, Baykeeper and Executive Director, NY/NJ Baykeeper, was quoted in the joint agency announcement. "This notification system is a crucial tool for protecting the public from the dangers of sewage releases," she said. "The alerts will provide invaluable information to the kayakers, fishermen, swimmers, and other recreational users of New York Harbor. People should not have to worry about becoming sick when using our waterways."

DEP posts weekly harbor water quality data online. The NYC Water Trail Association and its partners, the River Project and LaGuardia Community College, recently concluded a season of water sampling by citizen scientists.