Cleanup Underway at Kershaw Park
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Cleanup is underway at the beach at Kershaw Park in Canandaigua. The DEC is digging up and removing areas of sand and soil that contain a tar-like substance.
The Department of Health determined the black gunk was old crankcase oil from junk vehicles back in the 1920s. The beach was closed to swimming back in July because of the oil.
Crews are excavating contaminated soil by digging down about four to five feet in certain areas. The DEC is using an aqua dam to keep water out of the area.
According to Canandaigua’s Department of Public Works, the contaminated soil will be hauled off to the Ontario County Landfill.
"We do spot excavations to find the pockets of debris. Basically we are going it in a three phase approach because of the dewatering equipment we have in this area,” said Jim Abraham, DPW coordinator. “This area is roughly 80 feet long and we will move down to the other area of 80 feet, dewater that, and then check for contamination in those areas."
Cleanup is expected to take about a month.