Oakwood Wastewater Treatment Plant

Before our class discussion on the presence of wastewater treatment plants, I never once gave thought to where exactly the sewage from my home goes once it leaves it, and I was shocked to find just how close it was to spots that I’m entirely familiar with. Oakwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant is located right along the coastline of Staten Island facing the Atlantic Ocean, which is a notoriously dirty and unkempt shoreline in terms of both water quality and general pollution on the beach itself. The water has been found to be toxic in various studies done by local scientists, and it is a generally well known fact by local Staten Islanders that the water at Midland Beach is especially foul smelling and disgusting (which is why sensible Staten Island beachgoers go elsewhere for their beach-going needs). Knowing that this plant is right next to the area where most Staten Islanders are going to sunbathe over the summer is incredibly indicative of the reasons as to why that water might be so truly foul to swim in.