A Generational Leap in Providing Water Quality Improvements: Protecting Public Health and Our Waters for the Future
Transforming New York’s Saline Waters: A Historic Milestone
Since July 2022, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has been leading an unprecedented effort to elevate water quality and public health protections in the state’s saline waters. Through a series of regulatory advancements, NYSDEC is ensuring that the goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA)—making waters fishable and swimmable—are realized to their fullest potential. This initiative represents one of the most significant water quality upgrades in a generation.
A Major Step Forward in Water Protection
These landmark regulatory changes are not just incremental improvements—they build upon decades of progress to deliver a transformative impact. While these efforts do not instantly permit swimming or fishing in all waters, they establish the strongest protections to date, allowing NYSDEC to further reduce pollutant inputs and safeguard the progress already made. These upgrades ensure that future generations inherit cleaner, safer waterways.
NYSDEC reminds the public to always swim only at state or locally permitted beaches and to follow the New York State Department of Health (DOH) fish consumption advisories before eating any fish caught in any NYS waters. Please see the "Safety First!" section below for additional details.
Tackling New York City’s Most Challenging Waters
The focus of these rule changes is on some of the state’s most historically polluted waters, particularly in and around New York City. Despite dramatic improvements since the 1980s, many waterbodies still struggle to fully meet CWA goals due to dense populations, aging infrastructure, and combined sewer systems that can release untreated sewage during storms.
A cornerstone of this generational effort is the completion of Long-Term Control Plans (LTCPs) for New York City’s waterways. All of NYC’s LTCPs have been approved by NYSDEC and are moving forward in design and construction phases. These plans, alongside regulatory updates, ensure that New York City remains on track to achieve cleaner waters while setting the foundation for further enhancements.
A Legacy of Clean Water for Future Generations
Once all planned regulatory updates are finalized, 91% of New York City’s saline waters, by area, will fully meet the Clean Water Act’s fishable and swimmable goals—an achievement that will define the region’s environmental legacy. An additional 6% of waters will meet these standards during dry weather, with only limited impacts after storms. When the full and partial protections are combined, a remarkable 97% of New York City's waters will satisfy the CWA goals the majority of the time. By comparison, in 2018, only 77% of New York City's saline waters had protections meeting the CWA fishable and swimmable goals.
Rule makings and other activities in support of these efforts are listed below in reverse chronological order. Additional details on overall process and timeline can be found in the "Timeline and Tracking Progress" section below.
Next Steps: Implementing Key Water Quality Upgrades – Saline Reclassification Rule Making #1
NYSDEC has recently filed a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to amend key water quality classifications under state environmental regulations. These updates will:
- Reclassify 30 waterbody segments, significantly expanding the areas that are protected for swimming and fishing.
- Strengthen water quality standards (WQS) for saline waters, ensuring better protection for recreational and ecological uses year-round.
- Provide enhanced protections for historically impacted areas such as the Harlem River, New York Harbor, and Long Island Sound.
- Include a comprehensive Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) for the Harlem River that allows for reclassification from Class I to SB, with limited suspension of standards protective of swimming during wet weather events.
With these changes, New York is taking one of the most significant steps in decades toward cleaner, healthier waters for all.
The map above shows current waterbody classifications and the CWA goals those classifications protect. Waterbody classifications and associated best uses are defined in regulation at 6 NYCRR Part 701. In summary, Class SA saline waters have best uses of shellfishing, swimming, boating, and fishing. Class SB waters have best uses of swimming, boating, and fishing. Class SC waters have a best use of fishing, but must maintain water quality suitable for swimming and boating. Class I waters have best uses of boating and fishing. Class SD waters support a limited best use of fishing, only providing protections for fish survival.
Once the proposed rule making is finalized, approximately 92% of waters by area will have classifications and associated WQS fully or partially protective of the swimming best use, as illustrated in the map and pie chart below. This includes the 1% area contribution of the Harlem River, reclassified to SB with a wet weather (WW) limited use designation, which has standards protective of the swimming best with limited suspension of the WQS during rain events. Even with those limited suspensions, the Harlem River is projected to meet WQS protective of swimming approximately 161 days out of the 184-day recreation season.
Public Comment Hearings
Two public comment hearings for the proposed rule were held on June 16, 2025 (virtual) and June 18, 2025 (in-person, NYS DEC – Region 2 Office).
A recording of the virtual meeting can be accessed at https://meetny-gov.webex.com/meetny-gov/ldr.php?RCID=577adbebcd80133eb9fd10a0a3fe6d0b
Public Comment Hearing Slides (PDF) (presented at both virtual and in-person hearings)
Public Comment Submission
The public comment period commenced on April 16, 2025. Written statements may be submitted to:
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, 4th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-3500, ATTN: Gwendolyn Wynkoop (Temple)
Email: [email protected]
Written statements must be submitted to the NYSDEC by 11:59 p.m. on June 26, 2025.
Proposed Rule Making Documents
For more information on the amendments, please see the following proposed rule making documents.
- Express Terms (PDF)
- Summary Express Terms (PDF)
- Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) (PDF)
- Summary Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) (PDF)
- Statement in Lieu of Rural Flexibility Analysis (RAFA) (PDF)
- Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments (RFA) (PDF)
- Job Impact Statement (JIS) (PDF)
- Harlem River Use Attainability Analysis (PDF)
Adopted Amendments to 6 NYCRR Parts 701 & 703 – Water Quality Criteria to Protect Primary and Secondary Contact Recreation in NYS Saline Waters
Effective on October 18, 2023 upon publication of the State Register, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) filed a Notice of Adoption with the New York State Department of State to amend Parts 701 and 703 of Title 6 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules, and Regulations of the State of New York (6 NYCRR).
The adopted regulatory updates to 6 NYCRR Parts 701 and 703 include water quality standards to protect the shellfishing best use in Class SA waters; protect the primary contact recreation best use in Class SA and SB waters; maintain water quality suitable for primary contact recreation in Class SC waters; protect the secondary contact recreation best use in Class I waters; and add a wet weather (WW) limited use designation for waters impacted by combined sewer overflow discharges. The adopted rule making will impact Class SA, SB, SC, and I waters in and around New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley.
Primary contact recreation and secondary contact recreation are defined in regulations at 6 NYCRR 700.1, as follows:
- (49) “Primary contact recreation means recreational activities where the human body may come in direct contact with raw water to the point of complete body submergence. Primary contact recreation includes, but is not limited to, swimming, diving, water skiing, skin diving and surfing.”
- (56) “Secondary contact recreation means recreational activities where contact with the water is minimal and where ingestion of the water is not probable. Secondary contact recreation includes, but is not limited to, fishing and boating.”
This rule making was proposed on March 28, 2023. The public comment period was open from March 28, 2023 through June 20, 2023. NYSDEC held public hearings on the rule making on June 13, 2023, in Long Island City, NY and June 15, 2023 via webinar.
Adopted Rule Making Documents
For more information on the amendments, please see the following proposed rule making documents.
- Express Terms (PDF)
- Secondary Contact Recreation Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) (PDF)
- Rural Flexibility Analysis (RAFA) (PDF)
- Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments (RFA) (PDF)
- Job Impact Statement (JIS) (PDF)
- Assessment of Public Comments (APC) (PDF)
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making – Saline Water Reclassification
DEC filed an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) with the New York State Department of State on July 27, 2022, which closed on November 28, 2022. The ANPRM was a data gathering and public outreach exercise intended to inform future reclassification and water quality standard rule makings applicable to saline waters of the State. The ANPRM may inform amendments to water quality standards applicable to saline waters found in 6 NYCRR Parts 700-703. Saline waters potentially subject to reclassification are found in 6 NYCRR Parts 859, 864, 885, 890, 891, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, and 935. A full list of waters subject to possible reclassification is included in Table 1 of the ANPRM document (PDF).
The ANPRM was not a regulatory action, but an opportunity to gather stakeholder data to inform future regulatory changes, if appropriate. As such, there are no regulatory impacts and no need for a rule making hearing.
ANPRM Public Information Meetings
DEC held two public information meetings in support of the ANPRM. These were not hearings, but opportunities for stakeholders to learn about the ANPRM process and ask questions about the data DEC seeks in response to the ANPRM.
Public Information Meeting #1 was held on August 31, 2022, via WebEx. A recording of the meeting and the meeting slides can be found under the "ANPRM and Supporting Documents" heading below.
Public Information Meeting #2 was held on September 29, 2022, at the DEC Region 2 office. The meeting slides can be found below at "ANPRM and Supporting Documents."
ANPRM and Supporting Documents
- Full version of the ANPRM document (PDF) - With active hyperlinks and full text of Table 1.
- DRAFT copy of DEC's fact sheet (PDF) - Showing the derivation of secondary contact recreation water quality standards.
- Recording of ANPRM Public Meeting #1 - Note: recording was started late, but only introduction and review of meeting agenda material was missed.
- ANPRM Public Meeting #1 Slides (PDF)
- ANPRM Public Meeting #2 Slides (PDF)
Safety First!
Considering all these great improvements, the public is reminded to keep safety in mind whenever swimming, boating, or fishing in NYS waters.
People should swim at bathing beaches or waterfront facilities certified to operate by the State or local health department. These facilities will have frequent water quality monitoring, lifeguards, and other protocols in place to ensure that everyone has a safe and enjoyable swimming experience.
Boating, including the use of human-powered small craft like kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards, can be safely enjoyed in NYS saline waters most of the time. Dry weather concentrations of Enterococci (a fecal indicator bacteria) are often below standards assigned to protect the boating best use. Caution should be exercised in all waters impacted by combined sewer overflows during and immediately after a rainstorm to prevent contact with potentially contaminated water, especially in craft where capsizing or full-body immersion is likely. Please consult the NYC Waterbody Advisories page when planning or engaging in any recreational activity.
Catch and release fishing can be safely practiced in all NYS waters, but some cautions are required if you plan to eat the fish you catch. Before keeping and eating fish caught in any New York State waterbody, anglers should consult the NYS Department of Health’s fish consumption advisory page. The majority of the water quality improvements described on this page involve reductions in fecal indicator bacteria, which commonly do not impact the safe consumption of finfish tissue. Reductions in fecal indicator bacteria do make the waters safer for anglers to touch and wade in and decreasing sewage pollution has benefits to the fishery by increasing dissolved oxygen.
Timeline and Tracking Progress
Changes in water quality standards and classifications primarily change the goals to which the water is protected to, and do not immediately change water quality. DEC is confident that the changes described on this page will bring about lasting improvements and benefits, but urges the public to understand that centuries of pollution will take time to remedy.
The water quality standards and classification upgrades detailed on this page are a multi-year effort. The October 2023 adopted rule making and the April 2025 rule making proposal address many of the key elements needed to meet CWA goals, but there are still multiple reclassifications remaining, all of which will require Use Attainability Analyses (UAAs). As seen in the Harlem River UAA included with the April 2025 proposal, the UAAs can be very complicated and involved exercises. DEC is committed to working with NYC DEP and other stakeholders to ensure the optimal classification and highest attainable uses are assigned through the UAA effort, but recognize that this will take considerable time.
DEC’s reclassification plans include the eventual phase out of SD classifications, since they do not support the CWA swimmable goal and only partially support the fishable goal. DEC was previously engaged in a reclassification effort to eliminate Class D freshwaters which have similar CWA shortcomings, and was largely successful in that effort. However, with Class D freshwater reclassifications, the final determination to keep or upgrade a Class D water could only be made after completion of a UAA. It is important to note that only eight Class SD waterbodies will remain upon adoption of the proposed April 2025 rule making. DEC is still examining these eight waterbodies and the UAA process for Class SD saline waters will determine the appropriate classification and their highest attainable use.
Once reclassifications have been established and UAAs are in place, DEC is required to periodically review the UAAs to ensure they are accurate and appropriate, as UAAs are not permanent. Since NYC CSO outfalls are linked to State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits issued to NYC DEP, the review schedule for the UAAs will coincide with the 5-year review cycle of the permits. Linking the UAA reviews to the SPDES permit renewal will allow for a manageable schedule, incorporate incremental changes accomplished through LTCP implementation, provide synergies with the review of other pollutant inputs to the waterbodies via the wastewater resource recovery facilities, and offer a common mechanism for public notice and engagement. UAA reviews assess water quality progress that has been made and gauges the feasibility of additional improvements, demonstrating a commitment to reduce pollution in the waterbody.
The combined sewer infrastructure in NYC is hundreds of years old. At the time it was built, approximately 1676, conveying human waste through pipes to nearby waterbodies was a solution to many human health problems of the time. Around 1886, the early sewer system was recognized to be a driver of ambient water impairments and NYC government began working on wastewater treatment in 1906, constructing its first treatment plant in Coney Island. NYC began work to limit combined sewer discharges with the construction of the Spring Creek CSO Facility in 1972. DEC issued the first Consent Order to NYC related to combined sewer overflows in 1992, with updates to that Order in 2005 and 2012. The 2012 CSO Consent Order was the driver for the 11 currently approved CSO LTCPs. Water quality in NYC has been improving for the last century and that trend is expected to continue in the future.
The build out of pollution controls and sewer improvements in the LTCPs takes considerable time due to limited space, complicated sub-surface infrastructure, and costly land acquisition. The completion date for LTCP projects fall between 2026 and 2050; fully realized water quality improvements would follow completion of the projects, though incremental improvements are expected as projects progress. Completion of the green- and gray-infrastructure projects in the approved LTCPs is critical to water quality improvement, as those projects are the foundation upon which further water quality improvements can be built.
Separate from the LTCP projects, once a standard or class change becomes effective, DEC will begin regulating discharges and other sources of pollution that may threaten safe swimming, boating, and fishing to the new standards. With time and continued enforcement of more stringent standards, water quality often improves. However, certain sources like wild and domesticated animal feces, and legacy pollution are often outside the reach of DEC’s regulatory purview and may continue to cause negative impacts to water quality.
Water quality improvements and status can be tracked through the State’s Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters Requiring a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which identifies waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards, do not support their assigned best uses, and require the development of TMDL. Data to feed the 303(d) assessment updates comes from varied sources including the NYC Harbor Survey sampling program and other programs that meet the requirements of DEC Consolidated Assessment and List Methodology (CALM) (PDF).
