New York City Storm Water Plan Open for Public Comment

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has announced the release of a draft sustainable storm water management plan, a component of PlaNYC that examines and identifies immediate and long-term solutions to capture rainwater before it overflows the sewer system, causes flooding and pollutes waterways.

“We designed PlaNYC to be a detailed roadmap for the city to meet the enormous challenges we will face as our population grows, our infrastructure ages and our environment continues to be at risk,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Whether it’s flooding or polluting our waterways, storm water management is a necessary and critical facet of managing our city. Since its initial unveiling in April 2007, we’ve encouraged public participation in PlaNYC, and we are now asking for New Yorkers' input on this component of the plan.”

The storm water plan aims to, within two years, enact policies that will capture over one billion additional gallons of storm water. PlaNYC’s water quality goal called for opening 90 percent of city waterways for recreational use by reducing water pollution and preserving natural areas. To reduce water pollution from combined sewer overflows and storm water runoff, PlaNYC called for a task force to coordinate storm water planning issues and create a plan to implement sustainable strategies citywide. Local Law 5 of 2008 formalized the city’s commitment to create a sustainable storm water management plan, requiring a completed formal plan by Dec. 1, 2008.

Formed in May 2007, the Interagency Best Management Practices Task Force brought together 13 city agencies to analyze source control storm water management techniques into the design and construction of public and private projects to capture storm water runoff and reduce combined sewer overflows and storm water runoff.

The draft sustainable storm water management plan is available on the PlaNYC website, accessible via www.nyc.gov. Public comments will be accepted until Oct. 31 and may be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Public feedback will be incorporated into the final plan, which will be released on Dec. 1.

Source: Media-Newswire