5 Million Gallons Of Sewage Spill In Oneida River In Clay

As Lynyrd Skynyrd once famously sang "Can't you smell that smell?", the smell now surrounds Central New York. 5 million gallons of sewage discharge is heading into a local river.

The New York State Sewage Pollution Right to Know system reported a large sewage discharge spill to go into Oneida River in Clay on Monday, May 12th. Officials say a construction vehicle accidentally knocked over a utility pole at the plant, cutting power around 1:15PM.

That amount, 5 million gallons, is what the plant usually processes in a full day. According to Syracuse.com, The Oak Orchard plant handles wastewater for much of Clay and parts of Cicero. It’s also currently being expanded to handle future growth from the proposed Micron chip plant nearby.

Here's What To Do When Sewage Discharges Occurs

According to the New York State DEC, here’s what to know when sewage discharges happen:

1) They’re often caused by heavy rain or melting snow, blockages, outdated pipes, or system failures like power outages, like the one that just hit the Oak Orchard plant. With much of New York’s sewer system aging (40% is over 60 years old), these incidents are more common than you'd think.

2) If there’s a sewage spill, it’s best to avoid swimming, fishing, or boating in nearby waters, and these alerts also help highlight where critical infrastructure upgrades are needed to prevent future pollution.

How You Can Help Prevent Sewage Overflows

Want to help prevent sewage overflows? It starts at home. Cutting back on water use, like taking shorter showers, fixing leaky faucets, and using water-efficient appliances, reduces the strain on treatment plants, especially during storms. Also, never pour fats, oils, or grease down the drain (they clog up pipes fast), and keep things like wipes, diapers, and hygiene products out of the toilet—even if they say “flushable.” It all adds up to cleaner water and fewer nasty backups.

12 Upstate New York Cities; 12 Great Old-School "Dive Bars"

What makes a dive bar? Back in the day, it was usually a hole in the wall bar, tucked around some dimly lit corner of town. A place where people (mostly men) went after a hard days work for a hard night of drinking. No "respectable folks" would go to a dive bar. But, man that has all changed! Dive bars carry with them a sense of nostalgia, a sense of history and a sense of fun. Most have been around for 50, 60, and more years. They were our first college bars because the beer was cheap and everyone went there! A lot of them are still around. They have added kitchens, live music, and sports TVs. But a dive bar is a place you will know in an instant that it is a dive bar! Here are a dozen great ones in a dozen Upstate New York cityish.

Gallery Credit: Chuck D'Imperio