June 5 – NYC ROW Bioswales

6.7.14
John Parsons Douglas

We were lucky enough to have Nandan Shetty, from NYC Parks Department, explain the metrics of green infrastructure projects being conducted by City of New York.  First, he highlighted the priority watersheds located in New York City that are being targeted for Green Infrastructure projects.  He explained the city focuses on these certain watersheds because they do not meet the Clean Water Act.  This is due to our combined sewer system which discharges untreated sewage in to NYC waterways when heavy rainfall occurs.  Green infrastructure projects that capture stormwater from the street, before it reaches the sewage system, provide a cost-effective solution that has multiple benefits beyond storm water retention.  Currently, most of these projects are being done are bioswales in the right-of-way by the city due to much of the stormwater entering our sewage system comes from the right-of-way.  He illuminated some of the considerations that the city takes before deciding on placing a bioswale, the site analysis, and then the actual construction phase.  We were able to see the impressive performance from monitoring equipment installed into bioswales before and after superstorm Sandy.  We also learned what equations the city uses to design green infrastructure systems to capture all the storm water that would drain to each drainage point.  Then Nandan spoke about some of the research being conducted.  The class was thrilled to engage in a Q&A with such a knowledgeable guest, and we hope to have him back at Pratt soon.