Geosyntec Consultants Working on Blue Roof Plan for New York City

Geosyntec Consultants is working on a design team for New York City to pilot blue roof systems as part of a comprehensive technology demonstration program to address the issue of combined sewer overflow (CSO) and its impact on stream water quality after major storm events.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke last week from the roof of P.S. 118 in Queens on technologies that the city will be considering to reduce storm water flow impacts to wastewater treatment plants. One of the technologies was blue roofs, which uses site-specific retention systems to mechanically slow the release of storm water from roof surfaces to storm water collection systems, thereby reducing storm flows to the city's 14 wastewater treatment plants. Blue roofs, used in combination with other green technologies, could significantly reduce high-volume pollutant loads in storm water flows from storm events into the city's waterways. According to the mayor, these technologies also could provide significant cost savings to the city over the next 20 years.

"The blue roof concept offers highly urbanized communities a new, practical tool for reducing the sudden impact of storm water flows on CSO systems with the potential for significant long-term benefits to water quality," said Marcus Quigley, Geosyntec principal water resources engineer. "These systems have the additional benefits of being low cost with little to no interference to existing roof protection systems.

Source: PR Newswire