ESSEX -- A debate over what may be thousands of sunken tires is roiling the waters in this town.

Tires -- possibly 30,000 to 40,000 of them -- supposedly lie under the water's surface around the docks of Barry Hamilton's Essex Marina and Bob and Pat Burley's Essex Shipyard.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is looking into the situation.

BREAKWATER

Hamilton purchased the Essex Marina in 1992. At that time, a rubber tire breakwater had, according to him, been permitted at the adjacent Essex Shipyard.

The breakwater had two sections: one about 300 by 30 feet in length and the other 200 by 20. Each breakwater was about five tires in depth.

Hamilton figures 30,000 or more tires may be involved.

Two years ago, Hamilton hired a diver to survey the area and make a video that he said shows thousands of tires on the loose.

Their condition has exacerbated the problem, he said, because the sidewalls have deteriorated and zebra mussels have attached themselves, so the tires can no longer remain afloat, as was intended when the breakwaters were created.

In addition, storms, such as Hurricane Floyd in 1998, and winter ice apparently have broken the breakwaters into smaller sections, which have allowed them to move.

When they were in use, air would be put into the cavities of the tires each spring, which would keep them afloat through the boating season and allow the breakwater to minimize the wave action around the marinas.

Hamilton asserts that the tires have shifted from the south, which is the Essex Shipyard area, to his marina. Many have become lodged by his docks, limiting their intended use, and now wrap around the vicinity of his gas pump and waste-disposal station.

Tires have also found their way to the local beaches.

Looking at the video he had taken by a professional diver, Hamilton compares it to "a half-sunk ship. You can't inspect the chains and can't find the moorings as they are all covered with tires."

The docks in the area are classified as "Lake George moorings," which basically means the water can flow beneath the docks. However, with the tires being lodged, water flow is impeded.