Yesterday, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced its progress on a $29 million drainage upgrade at 19 separate New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties. The projects, which began earlier this year, include the construction of green infrastructure installations that together will capture approximately 55 million of gallons of stormwater in a typical year.
The projects hope to ease pressure on neighborhood sewers during rainstorms, which will reduce flooding and any overflows into local waterways, including the Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, East River and Jamaica Bay. Currently, seven projects have been completed, five projects are underway, and seven additional projects are yet to begin work.
“Investing in stormwater management at NYCHA developments will help us improve drainage systems and keep waterways clean,” said NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ. “Our close partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection has allowed the Authority to bring 21st-Century drainage and landscaping upgrades to several developments and we are excited to expand these stormwater upgrades to more developments across our portfolio.”
Typically, NYCHA is responsible for drainage at each of its properties. However, DEP saw the opportunity to capture significant stormwater across the portfolio of NYCHA properties which would ease pressure on neighborhood sewers and reduce overflows into local waterways. DEP approached NYCHA with the proposal to upgrade the drainage systems and the partnership is ongoing with additional sites in the planning and design phases in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
As part of this work, each NYCHA property is surveyed by DEP engineers, and green infrastructure installations are designed to meet the specifications of each particular site. Construction may include permeable concrete sidewalks, permeable asphalt, permeable pavers, subsurface infiltration chambers and/or rain gardens.
Each green infrastructure installation allows stormwater to be absorbed naturally into the ground, which minimizes any ponding and keeps stormwater from entering the sewer system, where it would otherwise contribute to neighborhood flooding and overflows into local waterways.
