What Was That Slimy Ooze In East River Yesterday Asks Roosevelt Island Resident? Holy NYC Combined Sewer Overflow

The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse reports:

@Rooseveltisland Do you know if there was a chemical spill in the river? Noticeable from the tram too. pic.twitter.com/vmLDUTNvKh

— Mendee Morgan (@MendeeMorgan) May 7, 2017

@Rooseveltisland Hmmm. Thanks for the info. I feel better now? I guess :/

— Mendee Morgan (@MendeeMorgan) May 7, 2017

@Rooseveltisland Holy CSO 😱

— Mendee Morgan (@MendeeMorgan) May 7, 2017

Image From NYC DEP

According to the NYC Department Of Environmental Protection:

The majority of New York City’s sewer system is combined, which means it is used to convey both sanitary and storm flows. Sometimes, during heavy rain and snow storms, combined sewers receive higher than normal flows. Treatment plants are unable to handle flows that are more than twice their design capacity and when this occurs, a mix of excess stormwater and untreated wastewater discharges directly into the city’s waterways at certain outfalls to prevent upstream flooding. This is called a combined sewer overflow (CSO). CSOs are a concern because of their effect on water quality and recreational uses in local waterways.

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NYC Combined Sewer Overflow,

UPDATE 5/10 - The East River slimy ooze came from a Con Ed oil spill according to Gothamist.

Coast Guard Responds To Large East River Oil Spill Following 'Catastrophic' Transformer Failure At Con Ed Substation https://t.co/gOi2NLG4Qy pic.twitter.com/Ur3eIyO4hw

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) May 9, 2017