New York City Announces Major
Expansion of Nationally Recognized Green Infrastructure Program to Further
Improve the Health of Local Waterways
Data
Collected from Pilot Program Demonstrates that Green Infrastructure
Installations Performed Even Better Than Anticipated
Construction
Underway to Build Approximately 2,000 Specially Designed Curbside Gardens in
Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens that will Beautify Neighborhoods, Help Clean the
Air and Improve the Health of the Bronx River, Flushing Bay, Gowanus Canal,
Jamaica Bay and Newtown Creek
Photos
of Curbside Gardens Can be Viewed on DEP’s
Flickr page and are provided below.
Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Emily Lloyd today joined partner
agencies, elected officials, environmental advocates and community groups to
announce a major expansion of New York City’s nationally recognized Green
Infrastructure Program. Over the coming months the City will accelerate the
ongoing construction to build approximately 2,000 specially designed curbside
gardens in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. When construction is completed, the
2,000 curbside gardens, also called bioswales, will have the capacity to
collect and absorb more than 4 million gallons of stormwater when it rains. It
is estimated that the bioswales will capture more than 200 million gallons of
stormwater each year, thereby improving the health of the Bronx River, Flushing
Bay, Gowanus Canal, Jamaica Bay and Newtown Creek. There are currently 255
bioswales in the ground and there are plans to add thousands more over the next
several years. To view a video of a bioswale collecting stormwater go here.
By
softening the impervious urban landscape and naturally absorbing rainwater that
would otherwise drain into the combined sewer system, the multi-agency effort
will help to reduce combined sewer overflows into local waterways. Analysis
shows that this adaptive approach to improving the health of our waterways, in
addition to the ancillary sustainability benefits, can be achieved at a lower
cost than a traditional strategy that does not include green infrastructure. In
addition, some of these neighborhoods currently have less than average street
tree counts and higher than average rates of asthma among young people. The
increased tree canopy and vegetation created through the addition of the
bioswales will help to improve air quality, provide shade during hot summer
months, and beautify the neighborhoods.
The
approximately 2,000 bioswales will be built in the following neighborhoods:
In
the Bronx: Soundview, Clason Point, and Castle Hill
In
Brooklyn: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Canarsie, Carroll Gardens,
Cobble Hill, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills, East New York, Ocean Hill, Park
Slope and Prospect Heights
In
Queens: Corona, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Jackson Heights,
Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park and Ridgewood
“In
order to improve the health of local waterways we need to better manage the
precipitation that falls on city streets, roof tops, parking lots and
sidewalks,” said DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd. “Investing in green infrastructure
is a cost-effective way to manage stormwater that also delivers multiple
benefits to local communities including a greener landscape, cleaner air, and
increased shade and cooler temperatures during the summer.”
“NYC
Parks is pleased to partner with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection
on the Green Infrastructure Program, building cost-effective stormwater capture
techniques to help improve our water quality,” said NYC
Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “This major expansion of adding
new bioswales in our communities will reduce combined sewer overflows into
local waterways while greening and beautifying our neighborhoods.”
“The
Green Infrastructure Program will increase our City’s resiliency to future
storm events, make our waterways healthier and cleaner, and beautify neighborhoods
across New York City,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation
President Kyle Kimball.
“Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens will reap the benefits of
these critical green infrastructure investments, making the City a more livable
place for all New Yorkers.”
“Bioswales
provide much-needed greenery for our urban neighborhoods and capture stormwater
to reduce overflows into our City’s rivers. Starting this year, DDC will be
installing more than 500 bioswales to support Mayor de Blasio’s efforts to make
our infrastructure more environmentally sustainable and resilient after
rainstorms, with even more in the design phase. I thank the Mayor and our
partners at DEP for making this forward-looking investment in the health of our
neighborhoods and waterways,” said DDC Commissioner Dr.
Feniosky Peña-Mora.
“From
Canarsie to Carroll Gardens and from Bushwick to Brownsville, Brooklyn
neighborhoods are getting ‘greener’ through the expansion of the Green
Infrastructure Program,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “Bioswales are more than just a
community beautification tool; they significantly improve our stormwater
management while cleaning our environment. Some of our most important and
at-risk waterways, including the Gowanus Canal, Jamaica Bay and Newtown Creek,
will benefit from this effort, which is helping us become a more sustainable
and resilient borough.”
“As
New York City continues to contend with the challenges posed by climate change,
innovation and sustainability become increasingly important,” said City
Council Member Donovan Richards, Chair to the Committee on Environmental
Protection.
“The initial success of DEP’s green infrastructure program is a commendable
step in a resilient and responsible direction. I look forward to seeing the
expansion of integrated green and grey infrastructure to protect communities
that are most susceptible and improving the quality of life for many New
Yorkers.”
“I
am very glad that DEP will soon begin construction on curbside gardens in
several areas across the City, including in the Gowanus watershed,” said City
Council Member Brad Lander.
“This is a crucial step to address the problem of combined sewer overflows,
which remain a very serious problem for the Canal. And this infrastructure is
an example of the kind of creativity that will be required to help make the
Gowanus neighborhood a model for sustainability in a low-lying, once-polluted
industrial area, on a warming planet.”
“I
am excited that the green infrastructure program will be expanded to improve
the health of waterways in New York City,” said City
Council Member Stephen Levin.
“Waterways like the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek will benefit greatly from
these improvements and I look forward to seeing them implemented. Thanks to
Mayor de Blasio for expanding this important program.”
“Today’s
announcement is great news for New York City’s environment and for all New
Yorkers,” said New York League of Conservation Voters
President Marcia Bystryn.
“The expansion of the Green Infrastructure Program will help cleanup polluted
rivers, creeks and bays in a cost-effective and proven way. In addition, this
program will create new green spaces for community enjoyment, while also
helping to make our neighborhoods more resilient to extreme weather and
flooding. We applaud the Department of Environmental Protection and the de
Blasio administration for this important environmental milestone.”
“We
are pleased see that New York City is scaling up its investments in green
infrastructure, to create healthier communities and cleaner water,” said Larry
Levine, Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This is an important step towards
meeting the City’s larger commitments to reduce sewage overflows. We look
forward to working with the City to develop a comprehensive approach to
achieving fishable, swimmable water, with green approaches at the forefront.”
“New
York City's latest update on the success of its green infrastructure program is
good news; stormwater capture and infiltration is clearly a key element of a
sustainable approach to improving water quality, especially in a dense urban
environment,” said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director
at Riverkeeper.
“By coupling Green Infrastructure with well-planned investments in wastewater
treatment, the City will be able to realize real progress to reduce sewage
pollution in a way that benefits all New Yorkers and the health of the Hudson
River and New York Harbor.”
“The
Nature Conservancy applauds the City’s commitment to expanding its bioswale
program,” said Bill Ulfelder, executive director of The Nature
Conservancy in New York.
“By continuing to promote the use of nature and green infrastructure across our
neighborhoods to help absorb stormwater, manage flooding, and improve water
quality, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner Emily Lloyd are leading the way
in beautifying our communities and enhancing our environment.”
“The
addition of 2,000 bioswales in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens will help to
reduce pollution in our local waterways and also improve air quality in
neighborhoods that have an insufficient number of trees and high rates of
asthma among young people,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the NYC
Environmental Justice Alliance.
“The Green Infrastructure program is a big win for all New Yorkers and I look
forward to seeing even more bioswales in additional neighborhoods in the
future.”
“Over
the past two years The Trust for Public Land has partnered with DEP, the
Department of Education and private donors to design and construct six green
infrastructure playgrounds capable of capturing 3 million gallons of storm
water each year,” said Marc Matsil, NYS Director, The Trust for Public
Land. “These
playgrounds also provide outdoor recreation opportunities to students in some
of the most underserved neighborhoods in the city, many with high diabetes and
obesity rates. Bravo Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Lloyd.”
“We
are thrilled to hear that the City will be accelerating the implementation of
its innovative green infrastructure plan,” said Executive
Director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy Andrea Parker. “Creating absorptive gardens
throughout our Watershed is a critical step towards curbing CSOs and achieving
a cleaner Gowanus canal. We also look forward to partnering with DEP in
developing our Bioswale Stewardship Certification program, which will train
residents to care for this essential urban infrastructure. Together, we can
make our city cleaner and greener.”
“The
Bronx River Alliance is pleased that NYC will be expanding implementation of
green infrastructure throughout the city, including in the Bronx River
watershed,” said Bronx River Alliance Executive Director Linda
Cox. “In
addition to helping the City meet water quality standards for our local waterways,
these features bring added benefits to our neighborhoods, such as better air
quality, cooling and beautification.”
“We
are very excited to see this investment in green infrastructure within the
Newtown Creek watershed,” said Newtown Creek Alliance Program Manager Willis
Elkins. “It
will help mitigate Combined Sewer Overflow events that have a serious impact on
water quality in the creek. We congratulate DEP and look forward to seeing more
bioswales and other natural systems installed to capture rainwater before it
enters the sewer system.”
“As
an organization which advocates for not just fishable and swimmable waterways
but also livable communities, the S.W.I.M. Coalition overwhelmingly supports
DEP’s increased implementation of green infrastructure throughout the city,”
said Coordinator of the S.W.I.M. Coalition Jaime Stein. “More green spaces will not just
lead to healthier waterways but the many co benefits of citywide greening can
promote healthier communities through beautification, increased biodiversity,
climate change adaptation and job creation.”
“Green
Infrastructure is an important and cost effective means of achieving our goals
for cleaner and safer water,” said Robert Pirani, Director
of the New York - New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program at the Hudson River
Foundation.
“This new commitment affirms New York City’s leadership in using this
innovative technology to both manage stormwater and green our neighborhoods.”
“We
are pleased that New York City is continuing to pursue green infrastructure
projects to improve water quality and reduce impacts from combined sewer
discharges,” said Debbie Mans, Executive Director &
Baykeeper, NY/NJ Baykeeper.
“More importantly, green infrastructure is just one part of developing a
comprehensive long-term approach to ensuring clean water for everyone.”
“The
2000 new bioswales are a smart and important green infrastructure step towards
capturing stormwater, diminishing CSO output and bringing us closer to
compliance with the Clean Water Act - making our city of water more swimmable
and fishable,” said Director of the Metropolitan Waterfront
Alliance Roland Lewis.
“We
applaud DEP for initiating and greatly expanding the Green Infrastructure
Program,” said Don Riepe, Director of the Northeast Chapter of
the American Littoral Society.
“These plantings will not only help reduce stormwater problems but enhance
neighborhood aesthetics as well.”
“At
the New York Harbor School, the Harbor is our classroom and our students are
working every day to make it a cleaner and more bountiful platform for teaching
and learning,” said Murray Fisher, President, New York Harbor
Foundation, Co-Founder, New York Harbor School. “The City’s addition of 2,000
bioswales is an important step towards reducing pollution in the Harbor and
increasing the number of days that we can work on, improve and learn from our
local waterways.”
Bioswales
are built in city sidewalks and do not result in the loss of any parking
spaces. They resemble standard street tree pits, except that they vary in size,
have curb cuts that allow stormwater to enter and overflow, and have been
designed in a way that will allow them to manage between 1,300 and 3,000
gallons each during a storm. DEP has worked with the Departments of
Transportation, Parks and Recreation, and Design and Construction to develop standard
designs, specifications and procedures for building green
infrastructure in New York City. During construction, the bioswales are
excavated to a depth of five feet and are then backfilled with layers of stone
and engineered soil. These layers contain void spaces that store the stormwater
and promote infiltration. The addition of hardy plants further encourages
infiltration through root growth and increases the capacity of the bioswale
through evapotranspiration. The bioswales are designed so that all the
stormwater is absorbed in less than 48 hours. DEP provides funding to the
Department of Parks and Recreation who assigns maintenance crews dedicated to
the upkeep of the bioswales, including trash removal, pruning the trees and
caring for the plants. Maintenance crews are active seven days a week and visit
each bioswale approximately once a week. Additional crews will continue to be
added as the program expands. DEP is funding the $46 million project and the
contracts are being managed by DEP, the Economic Development Corporation, and
the Departments of Design and Construction and Parks and Recreation. In
addition to the bioswales, approximately 30 stormwater greenstreets will be
built in underutilized roadway areas.
DEP
primarily builds bioswales in neighborhoods that are serviced by combined
sewers. Within these neighborhoods, locations for the bioswales are initially
chosen by DEP engineers who, armed with maps of the local water and sewer
systems, walk the streets and identify sidewalk locations that are upstream of
a catch basin and have the room necessary to accommodate a bioswale. This
initial group of potential locations is then reviewed by the Department of
Transportation to ensure that they meet all necessary pedestrian and vehicle
clearance requirements and the Department of Parks and Recreation who provides
guidance on trees and planting plans. Soil samples will then be taken from the
approved locations to ensure they can absorb the necessary amount of
stormwater. The extensive survey and testing ensures that each site functions
as designed. The locations that meet all these requirements will then be
approved for construction.
Over
the last three years DEP has conducted extensive outreach on the program,
including meeting with City Council Members, Community Boards, and neighborhood
and environmental organizations to inform communities about the purpose of
green infrastructure and the benefits it will bring to their neighborhoods as
well as plans for future construction. During the design and site selection
process, brochures with Frequently Asked Questions are distributed
to the properties abutting the locations of future bioswales and, as
construction commences, contact information for Community Construction Liaisons
and DEP public affairs staff are made available.
In
addition to building green infrastructure on streets and sidewalks, DEP is also
partnering with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of
Education, the School Construction Authority, the New York City Housing
Authority and the Trust for Public Land to identify and build green
infrastructure, such as rain gardens and permeable pavements, on other
City-owned property. DEP also administers a Grant Program for private property
owners. During the first three years of the grant program DEP has committed
over $11 million to fund 29 different projects, which was matched by $5.6
million in private funds. In total, the grant projects completed thus far will
prevent an estimated 13 million gallons of stormwater from entering the
combined sewer system each year. For more information on the program or to apply
for a grant visit the DEP website. Stormwater
management regulations have also been put in place for new development and
redevelopments. Over the next two decades, the City is planning for $1.5
billion in public funding, and another $900 million in funding connected to new
development or redevelopment, for targeted green infrastructure installations,
as well as approximately $2.9 billion in cost-effective traditional grey
infrastructure upgrades, to significantly reduce sewer overflows and further
improve the health of local waterways. For more information on the Green
Infrastructure Program, view the 2013 Annual Report.
New
York City, like other older urban communities, is largely serviced by a
combined sewer system where stormwater that falls on roofs, streets, and
sidewalks, and wastewater from homes and businesses are carried through a
single sewer line to treatment plants. The city’s 14 treatment plants can
manage and treat to federal Clean Water Act standards all the wastewater
created in New York City on a dry weather day, or about 1.3 billion gallons on
average. On a rainy day they have the capacity to clean more than twice the dry
weather flows. However, during intense precipitation events, the stormwater
that falls on the city’s impervious surfaces exceeds that capacity and
overflows can be discharged into local waterways. If the overflows were not
discharged, the City’s treatment plants would be flooded and severely damaged
and wastewater could backup into homes and businesses.
Over
the last decade the City has invested more than $10 billion in upgrades to
wastewater treatment plants and related efforts to reduce combined sewer
overflows and testing confirms that the water in New York Harbor is cleaner
today than it has been in more than a century. However, overflows remain the
city’s primary harbor water quality challenge. As traditional “grey”
infrastructure upgrades became increasingly expensive, the NYC Green Infrastructure
Plan was launched. An alternative approach to improving harbor water quality,
it combines traditional infrastructure upgrades and the integration of green
infrastructure to capture and retain stormwater runoff before it can ever enter
the sewer system and contribute to overflows. The Plan has the ambitious goal
of capturing the first inch of rain that falls on 10 percent of the city’s
impervious surfaces in combined sewer areas. New York City and New York State
have entered into a Modified Consent Order which formalized the City’s
inclusion of green infrastructure as an important component of its plan to
reduce combined sewer overflows into local waterways and improve the ecological
health and cleanliness of New York City harbor water.
DEP
manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons
of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million
in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more
than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled
lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring
water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of
sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment
plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate
watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with nearly $14
billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to
3,000 construction-related jobs per year. This capital program is responsible
for critical projects like City Water Tunnel No. 3; the Staten Island Bluebelt
program, an ecologically sound and cost-effective stormwater management system;
the city’s Watershed Protection Program, which protects sensitive lands upstate
near the city’s reservoirs in order to maintain their high water quality; and
the installation of more than 820,000 Automated Meter Reading devices, which
allow customers to track their daily water use, more easily manage their
accounts, and be alerted to potential leaks on their properties. For more
information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/nycwater,
or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/nycwater.
