On Sunday morning, the roads around Crandall Park were filled with nifty roadsters of all sorts as car enthusiasts brought their prized possessions to the 15th annual Car, Truck, & Motorcycle Show sponsored by the Adirondack Car Enthusiasts (ACE). ACE, a non-profit organization, was started in February of 2008, and sponsors two shows a year to raise money for local charity.

The $10 registration fee and spectator donations benefit Operation Santa Claus, which is a program that invites underprivileged children to write letters to Santa Claus… Then, volunteers “adopt” these letters, and reply to the children and/or provide gifts.

This event took place on the field at Crandall Park, and nostalgic music provided by JP Henderson filled the air… The event was kicked off with the playing of The National Anthem and Kate Smith’s rendition of God Bless America; then, popular old songs like “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King harkened spectators back to an age gone by as a variety of classic cars, sports cars and hot rods lined up for all to enjoy. 

Just looking out your window these days you can tell that the air quality has recently been affected by the wildfires in Canada… Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is creating unhealthy air for much of New York State. The wildfires have burned over 9.3-million acres of land across Canada. The state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said during a press conference on Tuesday: “The sky is hazy, visibility is terrible, and you can smell the smoke in the air.” And he was correct.

On Wednesday, due to the ever worsening conditions, Commissioner Seggos and State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald issued an unhealthy air quality health advisory for all regions of the state, except for the upper Adirondacks. The pollutants in the air are measured by the Air Quality Index – a scale that ranges from 0 to more than 300, and is used for reporting daily air quality. This index tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health risks that you should be concerned about… The pollutants that are monitored include ozone, fine particles, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane/non-methane hydrocarbons and meteorological data. These advisories are issued when the air quality index measures more than 100 parts per million of pollutants in the air… And, as of this morning, Queensbury had an AQI of 108, which means that the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups.  

Having this poor air can be “hazardous to anyone” the National Weather Service warned. Being exposed to pollutants at the current levels can cause headaches, difficulty breathing, irritated eyes, and asthma… This is especially the case for the elderly, and children who are immunocompromised. 

The Canadian wildfire season runs from May through October, with Canada on track to have its most destructive wildfire season in history. These fires are driven by extreme temperatures and droughts. 

Senator Chuck Schumer on the floor of the Senate said on Wednesday: “These Canadian wildfires are truly unprecedented, and we cannot ignore that climate change continues to make these disasters worse. Warmer temperatures and severe droughts mean forests burn faster, burn hotter and burn bigger, and the warming is happening at a faster pace in countries with higher latitudes… None of this is coincidence,” Senator Schumer said.

President Biden said in a tweet: “We’ve deployed more than 600 U.S. firefighters, support personnel, and equipment to support Canada as they respond to record wildfires-events that are intensifying because of the climate crisis.”

Wildfires generally begin with human activity or with lightning strikes, and data shows that climate change has contributed to creating environments where these fires can thrive… The province of Québec, for instance, has experienced record high heat and dry drought conditions throughout the year.  

The smoke is expected to clear when the weather pattern shifts, which is expected over the weekend, but the thick smoke and pollutants from the Canadian wildfires are still expected to last at least through Saturday.

For decades, the City of Glens Falls has been continuing to protect the environment, preserve its investments, and be good stewards of the environment by removing a significant amount of stormwater being sent to the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)… These changes to the city’s infrastructure have made a huge difference in the number of bypasses at the WWTP, resulting in a substantially lower amount of overflow into the Hudson River!

“In the last several years, the city has spent more than $17-million separating stormwater from sewer water by installing separate pipes for each purpose,” said Mayor Bill Collins. “This progression of separating sewer lines and storm water lines has made a significant difference, as we’ve seen a 50% reduction in the number of bypasses and an 85% reduction in the total amount of bypassed sewage at the WWTP into the Hudson River… Even if a bypass is required, WWTP blends bypassed sewage with treated effluent, and our impact on the Hudson River is minimal and very difficult to measure.”

“The number of bypasses continues to depend on the amount of precipitation during the year and the intensity of a rain event,” said Bill Norton, Superintendent of the Water and Sewer Department.  “Glens Falls and the surrounding area have experienced an increase of intense rain events over the last couple of years… When we receive a large amount of rain in a short period of time, the result is the collection system experiencing a rapid increase in flow, that peaks and then quickly dissipates. When the rainfall intensity exceeds 0.1 inches within 15 minutes, or exceeds 0.2 inches in five minutes, a bypass event is most likely to happen… Conversely, rain events that have been spread out over four hours or more while also receiving up to an inch of rain have not resulted in any bypass issues.”

“The number of bypasses and the amount of sewage overflow during an intense rain event continues to decrease as we improve our system through this separation program,“ continued Norton. “The removal of storm water and ground water flow from infiltrating the collection system has allowed the WWTP to reduce daily flow and improve the amount of sewage treated… That’s even while additional tributary sewage flow has been added from the Town of Queensbury, the Village of South Glens Falls, and the Town of Moreau. These three ‘Tributary Communities’ contribute about 32% to the City of Glens Falls WWTP daily flow.”

“Additional efforts to reduce the storm water impact on the sanitary sewer line have been made by using bioretention basins, rain gardens, and dry wells to collect the runoff and allow the water to seep into the ground after receiving any amount of rainfall,” stated Collins. “The City of Glens Falls has concentrated on separating the combined sewer systems while performing road construction and repair projects. I know the Planning Board is paying particular attention to stormwater management on any building permits submitted, and those efforts are playing out now in the oldest part of the city – including South Street, Broad Street, Elm Street, Warren Street, Glen Street, Bay Street, Ridge Street and Hudson Avenue.”

If you would like any additional information, or if you would like to discuss the stormwater management program with the Glens Falls Water and Sewer Department staff, please contact the office during regular business hours at (518) 761-3850. Otherwise, for more information regarding this or any other issue, please reach out via email at communicationsdirector@cityofglensfalls.com, or tdrawbridge@cityofglensfalls.com. If your issue is urgent or if you’re looking to speak with Mayor Collins regarding a formal comment, please call (518) 920-4884.