A Wide Open Invitation To Have Some Fun And Die

Combined Sewer Outflow
 pipe with full access, adjacent
to a public park

In late March, as I have reported on recently, Hudson DPW was forced to uncover a large stormwater pipe near Oakdale Park soon after there was a mudslide that had buried and clogged the exposed end of the pipe.  It is an important bit of infrastructure, known as a Combined Sewer Outflow (CSO) pipe, which, as I understand, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation inspects annually to make sure it is getting the outflow where it needs to go. DPW is responsible for the maintenance of the long, subterranean pipe.  After I informed DEC of the mudslide and pipe blockage, they contacted Hudson DPW and told them to fix the situation.  The work began 3 days later, on a Monday.

DPW, working to
uncover the pipe 

The mudslide, in an environmentally sensitive area (a small wetland), was the result of DPW allowing the dumping of far too much fill (dirt) and debris too close to the pipe last year.  Anyone paying attention could see that trouble was bound to occur -- I even called DEC last summer to warn them of excessive dumping in and near the pipe and wetland, but to no avail.  DPW Superintendent Robert Perry should have anticipated the trouble, if not the mudslide itself, but he apparently makes too much money to be concerned with such things.  My guess is that he never once had a close look at the situation last year at the "dump" because he was too concerned about dirtying his pink slacks that he can often be found wearing.   

With the help of some monster machinery and hours of labor from at least 4 DPW employees over the course of at least two days in the mud and water, the end of the CSO pipe was uncovered and, strange to me, a short section of pipe was added to its end.  That new pipe is the same width as the original pipe -- about 4 feet, possibly 5 feet wide.  There was never anything covering the end of the old pipe, and there is nothing covering the end of the new section of pipe.

No signs, no fence,
no cover, no problem

When I was an adventurous, fearless, and curious kid, my friends and I did a lot of really stupid things outside in the woods that we boasted about, laughed about, or got scolded for by our parents if we got caught.  It's what children do, especially boys when playing outside just looking for fun.  None of us died or were seriously hurt, but there certainly was no shortage of opportunities to do so. I can imagine that Robert Perry was similarly curious about the outside world as a boy.

Inside the pipe, an
invitation to die

Had my friends and I come across a large, wide-open pipe trickling with sewer water, just like the pipe anyone can easily approach at the dump near Oakdale, we would not have turned around and walked the other way.  One or all of us certainly would have crawled inside to have a look -- immediately!  Any of my friends  would have dared me to go all the way to the other end of the pipe, wherever that might be.  And I might have accepted the challenge.  It's what boys do, right?  Parents fret about this kind of stuff -- children doing unwise, unsafe and regrettable things that are seen of as just "fun" to youngsters.  Most kids don't see an open pipe as dangerous; they see it as an invitation to explore.  Especially one with no fence or signs anywhere nearby.

DPW even created a stone path
directly to the open pipe -- from
the parking lot of a public park

Whether or not you have children of your own, if you think that it is absolutely unacceptable that our DPW Superintendent Robert Perry allows a 4-foot wide pipe to be easily accessible by anyone, please reach out to him and tell him how you feel.  

• Robert Perry, DPW Superintendent, might be able to be reached at 518-828-9458.  His email is dpwsuperintendent@cityofhudson.org