NYCkayaker [tb-cyberharbor]: Sewers at Capacity, Waste Poisons Waterways

[baptowicz at comcast.net]

The quality of true stormwater runoff in cities is not as clean as you might think. In fact, except for bacteriological concentrations, it's quality is not that much different then combined sewage overflows. So even if NYC spent the tens of billions to separate the combined sewers, and therefore no untreated sanitary sewage would enter the receiving waters, the rivers would still have water quality problems during significant storm events. And other than mandating that floatables are prevented from being discharged from stormwater pipes there are no national laws requiring any treatment of stormwater discharges (unless local water quality conditions mandate it). 



NYC, as have many combined sewer systems cities, have made great strikes in reducing the frequency of combined sewer discharges (and this means that discharges of storms of lower intensity/duration are eliminated)  and  more needs and is planned to be done. But as some point, at least speaking for myself, one need to accurately and confidently understand (via modeling based on the collection of significant amounts of data covering the range of storms events ), the differences in river water quality that would be achieved with the sewer separation. Given all the other demands on public resources, it, quite frankly, may not be worth it. 



BTW, the article also refers to land overflows caused by partially blocked or undercapacity sewers. This issue is separate from CSO discharges and is an unacceptable condition and must be rectified. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 



Bruce Aptowicz PE 

  


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Muller" <rlmuller at earthlink.net> 
To: "nykayak" <nyckayaker at rockandwater.net> 
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 6:44:03 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: NYCkayaker [tb-cyberharbor]: Sewers at Capacity, Waste Poisons Waterways 

We haven't settled. DEP is under a consent order with DEC that has resulted 
in the formulation of long-term control plans for all of NYC's drainage 
sheds. They set actions and goals for reduction of CSOs over time. and have 
been submitted to DEC for approval. They include end-of-pipe techniques and 
BMPs - best management practices such as increasing vegetation and permeable 
surfaces to retain / detain stormwater. Without the big bucks, much of which 
must go for mandated projects such as the Croton filtration plant and the 
Cat-Del UV plant, it's inevitably a long, drawn-out process. 

Ironically, the concept of CSO infrastructure was brought back from Germany 
in the 1800s as a model of efficiency, which it is unless you don't want all 
the runoff and sewage ending up in one place. 

-----Original Message----- 
From: nyckayaker-bounces at rockandwater.net 
[mailto:nyckayaker-bounces at rockandwater.net] On Behalf Of rob buchanan 
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 11:31 PM 
To: cyberharbor; nykayak 
Subject: Re: NYCkayaker [tb-cyberharbor]: Sewers at Capacity,Waste Poisons 
Waterways 

Here¹s the crucial paragraph for me: 

<<Several years ago, city officials estimated that it would cost at least 
$58 billion to prevent all overflows. ³Even an expenditure of that magnitude 
would not result in every part of a river or bay surrounding the city 
achieving water quality that is suitable for swimming,² the department 
wrote. ³It would, however, increase the average N.Y.C. water and sewer bill 
by 80 percent.²>> 

It¹s a huge amount‹and probably more by now. But what are our other options? 
Do we really want to settle for things the way they are? 

  

On 11/23/09 6:57 AM, "cm_nyc" <cmandala at nyc.rr.com> wrote: 

> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/us/23sewer.html?_r=1&th&emc=th 
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/us/23sewer.html?_r=1&amp;th&amp;emc=th> 
>   
>   
> November 23, 2009 
> Sewers at Capacity, Waste Poisons Waterways 
> By CHARLES DUHIGG 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/charles_duhigg 
/i 
> ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> 
> Copyright 2009 
<http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html> 
> The New York Times Company <http://www.nytco.com/> 
> It was drizzling lightly in late October when the midnight shift started 
at 
> the Owls Head Water Pollution Control Plant, where much of Brooklyn¹s 
sewage 
> is treated. 
> 
> A few miles away, people were walking home without umbrellas from late 
> dinners. But at Owls Head, a swimming pool¹s worth of sewage and 
wastewater 
> was soon rushing in every second. Warning horns began to blare. A little 
after 
> 1 a.m., with a harder rain falling, Owls Head reached its capacity and 
workers 
> started shutting the intake gates. 
> 
> That caused a rising tide throughout Brooklyn¹s sewers, and untreated 
feces 
> and industrial waste started spilling from emergency relief valves into 
the 
> Upper New York Bay and Gowanus Canal. 
> 
> ³It happens anytime you get a hard rainfall,² said Bob Connaughton, one 
the 
> plant¹s engineers. ³Sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of rain, and 
you¹ve 
> got overflows across Brooklyn.² 
> 
> One goal of the Clean Water Act of 1972 was to upgrade the nation¹s sewer 
> systems, many of them built more than a century ago, to handle growing 
> populations and increasing runoff of rainwater and waste. During the 1970s 
and 
> 1980s, Congress distributed more than $60 billion to cities to make sure 
that 
> what goes into toilets, industrial drains and street grates would not 
endanger 
> human health. 
> 
> But despite those upgrades, many sewer systems are still frequently 
> overwhelmed, according to a New York Times analysis of environmental data. 
As 
> a result, sewage is spilling into waterways. 
> 
> In the last three years alone, more than 9,400 of the nation¹s 25,000 
sewage 
> systems ‹ including those in major cities ‹ have reported violating the 
law by 
> dumping untreated or partly treated human waste, chemicals and other 
hazardous 
> materials into rivers and lakes and elsewhere, according to data from 
state 
> environmental agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/environ 
me 
> ntal_protection_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org> . 
> 
> But fewer than one in five sewage systems that broke the law were ever 
fined 
> or otherwise sanctioned by state or federal regulators, the Times analysis 
> shows. 
> 
> It is not clear whether the sewage systems that have not reported such 
dumping 
> are doing any better, because data on overflows and spillage are often 
> incomplete. 
> 
> As cities have grown rapidly across the nation, many have neglected 
> infrastructure projects and paved over green spaces that once absorbed 
> rainwater. That has contributed to sewage backups into more than 400,000 
> basements and spills into thousands of streets, according to data 
collected by 
> state and federal officials. Sometimes, waste has overflowed just upstream 
> from drinking water intake points or near public beaches. 
> 
> There is no national record-keeping of how many illnesses are caused by 
sewage 
> spills. But academic research suggests that as many as 20 million people 
each 
> year become ill from drinking water containing bacteria and other 
pathogens 
> that are often spread by untreated waste. 
> 
> A 2007 study published in the journal Pediatrics, focusing on one 
Milwaukee 
> hospital, indicated that the number of children suffering from serious 
> diarrhea rose whenever local sewers overflowed. Another study, published 
in 
> 2008 in the Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health, estimated 
that 
> as many as four million people become sick each year in California from 
> swimming in waters containing the kind of pollution often linked to 
untreated 
> sewage. 
> 
> Around New York City, samples collected at dozens of beaches or piers have 
> detected the types of bacteria and other pollutants tied to sewage 
overflows. 
> Though the city¹s drinking water comes from upstate reservoirs, 
> environmentalists say untreated excrement and other waste in the city¹s 
> waterways pose serious health risks. 
> 
> A Deluge of Sewage 
> 
> ³After the storm, the sewage flowed down the street faster than we could 
move 
> out of the way and filled my house with over a foot of muck,² said Laura 
> Serrano, whose Bay Shore, N.Y., home was damaged in 2005 by a sewer 
overflow. 
> 
> Ms. Serrano, who says she contracted viral meningitis because of exposure 
to 
> the sewage, has filed suit against Suffolk County, which operates the 
sewer 
> system. The county¹s lawyer disputes responsibility for the damage and 
> injuries. 
> 
> ³I had to move out, and no one will buy my house because the sewage was 
> absorbed into the walls,² Ms. Serrano said. ³I can still smell it 
sometimes.² 
> 
> When a sewage system overflows or a treatment plant dumps untreated waste, 
it 
> is often breaking the law. Today, sewage systems are the nation¹s most 
> frequent violators of the Clean Water Act. More than a third of all sewer 
> systems ‹ including those in San Diego, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, 
> Philadelphia, San Jose and San Francisco ‹ have violated environmental 
laws 
> since 2006, according to a Times analysis of E.P.A. data. 
> 
> Thousands of other sewage systems operated by smaller cities, colleges, 
mobile 
> home 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/m/mobile_homes 
_a 
> nd_trailers/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>  parks and companies have 
also 
> broken the law. But few of the violators are ever punished. 
> 
> The E.P.A., in a statement, said that officials agreed that overflows 
posed a 
> ³significant environmental and human health problem, and significantly 
> reducing or eliminating such overflows has been a priority for E.P.A. 
> enforcement since the mid-1990s.² 
> 
> In the last year, E.P.A. settlements with sewer systems in Hampton Roads, 
Va., 
> and the east San Francisco Bay have led to more than $200 million spent on 
new 
> systems to reduce pollution, the agency said. In October, the E.P.A. 
> administrator, Lisa P. Jackson 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/lisa_p_jackson 
/i 
> ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> , said she was overhauling how the Clean Water 
Act 
> is enforced. 
> 
> But widespread problems still remain. 
> 
> ³The E.P.A. would rather look the other way than crack down on cities, 
since 
> punishing municipalities can cause political problems,² said Craig 
Michaels of 
> Riverkeeper 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/riverke 
ep 
> er/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , an environmental advocacy group. ³But 
without 
> enforcement and fines, this problem will never end.² 
> 
> Plant operators and regulators, for their part, say that fines would 
simply 
> divert money from stretched budgets and that they are doing the best they 
can 
> with aging systems and overwhelmed pipes. 
> 
> New York, for example, was one of the first major cities to build a large 
> sewer system, starting construction in 1849. Many of those pipes ‹ 
constructed 
> of hand-laid brick and ceramic tiles ‹ are still used. Today, the city¹s 
7,400 
> miles of sewer pipes operate almost entirely by gravity, unlike in other 
> cities that use large pumps. 
> 
> New York City¹s 14 wastewater treatment plants, which handle 1.3 billion 
> gallons of wastewater a day, have been flooded with thousands of pickles 
> (after a factory dumped its stock), vast flows of discarded chicken heads 
and 
> large pieces of lumber. 
> 
> When a toilet flushes in the West Village in Manhattan, the waste runs 
north 
> six miles through gradually descending pipes to a plant at 137th Street, 
where 
> it is mixed with so-called biological digesters that consume dangerous 
> pathogens. The wastewater is then mixed with chlorine and sent into the 
Hudson 
> River. 
> 
> Fragile System 
> 
> But New York¹s system ‹ like those in hundreds of others cities ‹ combines 
> rainwater runoff with sewage. Over the last three decades, as thousands of 
> acres of trees, bushes and other vegetation in New York have been paved 
over, 
> the land¹s ability to absorb rain has declined significantly. When 
treatment 
> plants are swamped, the excess spills from 490 overflow pipes throughout 
the 
> city¹s five boroughs. 
> 
> When the sky is clear, Owls Head can handle the sewage from more than 
750,000 
> people. But the balance is so delicate that Mr. Connaughton and his 
colleagues 
> must be constantly ready for rain. 
> 
> They choose cable television packages for their homes based on which 
company 
> offers the best local weather forecasts. They know meteorologists by the 
sound 
> of their voices. When the leaves begin to fall each autumn, clogging sewer 
> grates and pipes, Mr. Connaughton sometimes has trouble sleeping. 
> 
> ³I went to Hawaii with my wife, and the whole time I was flipping to the 
> Weather Channel, seeing if it was raining in New York,² he said. 
> 
> New York¹s sewage system overflows essentially every other time it rains. 
> 
> Reducing such overflows is a priority, city officials say. But eradicating 
the 
> problem would cost billions. 
> 
> Officials have spent approximately $35 billion over three decades 
improving 
> the quality of the waters surrounding the city and have improved systems 
to 
> capture and store rainwater and sewage, bringing down the frequency and 
volume 
> of overflows, the city¹s Department of Environmental Protection wrote in a 
> statement. 
> 
> ³Water quality in New York City has improved dramatically in the last 
century, 
> and particularly in the last two decades,² officials wrote. 
> 
> Several years ago, city officials estimated that it would cost at least 
$58 
> billion to prevent all overflows. ³Even an expenditure of that magnitude 
would 
> not result in every part of a river or bay surrounding the city achieving 
> water quality that is suitable for swimming,² the department wrote. ³It 
would, 
> however, increase the average N.Y.C. water and sewer bill by 80 percent.² 
> 
> The E.P.A., concerned about the risks of overflowing sewers, issued a 
national 
> framework in 1994 to control overflows, including making sure that pipes 
are 
> designed so they do not easily become plugged by debris and warning the 
public 
> when overflows occur. In 2000, Congress amended the Clean Water Act to 
crack 
> down on overflows. 
> 
> But in hundreds of places, sewer systems remain out of compliance with 
that 
> framework or the Clean Water Act, which regulates most pollution 
discharges to 
> waterways. And the burdens on sewer systems are growing as cities become 
> larger and, in some areas, rainstorms become more frequent and fierce. 
> 
> New York¹s system, for instance, was designed to accommodate a so-called 
> five-year storm ‹ a rainfall so extreme that it is expected to occur, on 
> average, only twice a decade. But in 2007 alone, the city experienced 
three 
> 25-year storms, according to city officials ‹ storms so strong they would 
be 
> expected only four times each century. 
> 
> ³When you get five inches of rain in 30 minutes, it¹s like Thanksgiving 
Day 
> traffic on a two-lane bridge in the sewer pipes,² said James Roberts, 
deputy 
> commissioner of the city¹s Department of Environmental Protection. 
> 
> Government¹s Response 
> 
> To combat these shifts, some cities are encouraging sewer-friendly 
> development. New York, for instance, has instituted zoning laws requiring 
new 
> parking lots to include landscaped areas to absorb rainwater, established 
a 
> tax credit for roofs with absorbent vegetation and begun to use millions 
of 
> dollars for environmentally friendly infrastructure projects. 
> 
> Philadelphia has announced it will spend $1.6 billion over 20 years to 
build 
> rain gardens and sidewalks of porous pavement and to plant thousands of 
trees. 
> 
> But unless cities require private developers to build in ways that 
minimize 
> runoff, the volume of rain flowing into sewers is likely to grow, 
> environmentalists say. 
> 
> The only real solution, say many lawmakers and water advocates, is 
extensive 
> new spending on sewer systems largely ignored for decades. As much as $400 
> billion in extra spending is needed over the next decade to fix the 
nation¹s 
> sewer infrastructure, according to estimates by the E.P.A. and the 
Government 
> Accountability Office 
> 
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/g/governm 
en 
> t_accountability_office/index.html?inline=nyt-org> . 
> 
> Legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill contains millions in water 
> infrastructure grants, and the stimulus bill passed this year set aside $6 
> billion to improve sewers and other water systems. 
> 
> But that money is only a small fraction of what is needed, officials say. 
And 
> over the last two decades, federal money for such programs has fallen by 
70 
> percent, according to the New York State Department of Environmental 
> Conservation, which estimates that a quarter of the state¹s sewage and 
> wastewater treatment plants are ³using outmoded, inadequate technology.² 
> 
> ³The public has no clue how important these sewage plants are,² said Mr. 
> Connaughton of the Brooklyn site. ³Waterborne disease was the scourge of 
> mankind for centuries. These plants stopped that. We¹re doing everything 
we 
> can to clean as much sewage as possible, but sometimes, that isn¹t 
enough.² 
> 
>  <http://www.nytco.com/> 
> 

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