the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Upper Saddle River NJ, after a decade-long legal battle, the borough has been awarded a $900,000 settlement over the discharge of approximately 540,000 gallons of waste into the Saddle River by the Rockland County Sewer District No. 1.
U.S. Southern District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled in favor of the suit filed by the borough and five residents back in April 2014. The suit alleges that the sewer district has been polluting the Saddle River and is likely to continue doing so.
According to the lawsuit, wastewater from the 73-square-mile service area was supposed to be directed to the treatment plant in Orangeburg, New York, and discharged only into the Hudson River and its Sparkill Creek tributary. However, the Saddle River Pump Station, situated next to the Saddle River Valley Swim and Tennis Club, has experienced more mechanical failures due to its “high head” design, along with the Twin Lakes Pump Station in nearby Monsey, New York.
The plaintiffs claim that there have been approximately 135 discharges into the Saddle River since 2001, occurring in both wet and dry weather conditions. However, the suit specifically addresses only 12 discharges between 2006 and 2010.
Incidents described in the suit include a “fountain of sewage” erupting from a manhole near the swim club, covering its lawn with “pieces of toilet paper” and “used bloated tampons,” as well as reports of athletic fields in Lions Park adjacent to the Saddle River emitting a foul sewer odor.
Despite defense witnesses attributing the discharges to a combination of pump station design and a 20% reduction in staffing, they failed to explain why a $30.5 million system improvement did not resolve the issue.
Join the new Saddle River Valley, Ramapo and Pascack Valley Communities Facebook group
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Driving over the border to Rockland county is a real eye opener
Let’s see what happens.