Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams yesterday released a stormwater management plan, which could prevent half a billion gallons of stormwater from entering the borough’s combined sewer system, if implemented.
The study, completed by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI), was sponsored by the office of the Brooklyn Borough President, with funding from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
“When it comes to our overflow problem with our sewers, which are leading to damaging coastal floods and the release of raw sewage into our marine ecosystem, major changes are needed to protect residents, business and wildlife alike,” said Adams.
The plan recommends a watershed-based approach that will capture and retain at least the first inch of rain that falls on the greenway, adjoining public right of way and impervious surfaces for one block upslope of the greenway.
“With the greenway situated at the lowest contours of Brooklyn’s East River watersheds, it is ideally situated to play a major role in stormwater management,” said Milton Puryear, co-founder of BGI.
In a combined sewer system, stormwater and sanitary sewage from toilets and other waste sources enter the same pipes on the way to the City’s water treatment plants. During significant rainfall, the volume of water and sewage exceeds the pipe’s capacity and the excess is released into surface water bodies such as the East River, Gowanus Canal, New York Harbor and Newtown Creek.
In addition to preventing combined sewer overflow events, the plan suggests how the greenway can be built as part of an integrated flood protection system for areas such as Red Hook and industrial areas of Sunset Park that experienced major losses from flooding as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
