New York City Becoming a Blue-Green City

Abstract

The remit of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to protect public heath and the environment. It monitors air quality and seeks to reduce pollution created by noise and hazardous materials; it is also responsible for supplying clean drinking water and for collecting and treating wastewater. DEP treats on average 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater per day, inclusive of all dry and wet weather flows. This flow is conveyed through 7,400 miles of sewers, 149 miles of interceptor sewers and 113 pump stations to 14 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The WWTPs have the capacity to handle the city’s wastewater in dry weather and during most storms: 13 are designed with a capacity of double dry weather flows. Treated wastewater is then discharged into the city’s harbour.