Cohoes Mayor John McDonald says helping the Hudson River is a common goal without an obvious solution.Six Capital District communities are working to formulate a long-term control plan to deal with sewage overflows that contaminate the Hudson River. According to the Troy Record, the first public hearing about the plan took place on Monday.

Troy, Cohoes, Green Island, Watervliet, Rensselaer and Albany will conduct the study of the river in the coming months. They would like to determine how best to meet the environmental challenges that 92 overflow pipes present to the river. Sewage includes pathogens and floatables, like floating garbage, which impact the health of aquatic life, the quality of drinking water and recreation.

Troy is contributing $1.5 million, and Cohoes, another $300,000, to the overall $5.3 million study

A website has been posted to inform area residents about the project. The site — cdrpc.org/CSO.html — includes minutes from past meetings and information on the data collection project.