New York City Department of Environmental Protection

New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	New York City
Headquarters	59-17 Junction Boulevard Flushing, New York
Agency executive	Carter H. Strickland, Jr., Commissioner
Parent agency	New York City
Website
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep

Tallman Island plant

Rockaway plant

Sludge boat

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) manages the city’s water supply, providing more than 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m³) of water each day to more than 9 million residents throughout New York State through a complex network of nineteen reservoirs, three controlled lakes and 6,200 miles (10,000 km) of water pipes, tunnels and aqueducts. The DEP is also responsible for managing the city's combined sewer system, which carries both storm water runoff and sanitary waste, and fourteen wastewater treatment plants located throughout the city. The DEP carries out federal Clean Water Act rules and regulations, handles hazardous materials emergencies and toxic site remediation, oversees asbestos monitoring and removal, enforces the city's air and noise codes, bills and collects on city water and sewer accounts, and manages citywide water conservation programs.

Emily Lloyd was the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection until resigning in 2008. On November 30, 2009, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Caswell F. Holloway to be the new commissioner of NYCDEP.[1] Following Holloway's appointment as the new NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations [2], Mayor Bloomberg appointed Carter H. Strickland, Jr. to be the new commissioner of NYCDEP on August 17, 2011. [3]

Other former commissioners include: Frank McArdle (1978-81), Joe McGough (1982-86), Harvey Schultz (1986-89), Albert Appleton (1990-93), Marilyn Gerber (1994-96), Joel Miele (1996-2002), and Christopher Ward (2002-04).

Facilities

Drinking water

Main article: New York City water supply system

NYCDEP manages three upstate supply systems to provide the city's drinking water: the Croton system, the Catskill system, and the Delaware system. The overall distribution system has a storage capacity of 550 billion US gallons (2.1×10⁹ m³) and provides over 1.2 billion US gallons (4,500,000 m³) per day of high quality drinking water to more than eight million city residents and another one million users in four upstate counties bordering on the water supply system. The distribution system is made up of an extensive grid of water mains stretching approximately 6,500 miles (10,500 km).

Wastewater treatment

The city's wastewater is collected through an extensive grid of sewer pipes of various sizes and stretching over 6,600 miles (10,600 km). The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment operates 14 water pollution control plants treating and average of 1.5 billion US gallons (5,700,000 m³) of wastewater a day; 89 wastewater pump stations: 8 dewatering facilities; and 490 sewer regulators.

Wastewater Treatment Plants

Plant	Service area	Size	Discharges to
26th Ward	Eastern Brooklyn	85 million US gallons (320,000 m3) per day	Jamaica Bay
Bowery Bay	Northeast Queens	150 million US gallons (570,000 m3) per day	Upper East River
Coney Island	South & Central Brooklyn	110 million US gallons (420,000 m3) per day	Jamaica Bay
Hunts Point	Eastern Bronx	200 million US gallons (760,000 m3) per day	Upper East River
Jamaica	Southern Queens	100 million US gallons (380,000 m3) per day	Jamaica Bay
Newtown Creek	Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens	310 million US gallons (1,200,000 m3) per day	East River
North River	Manhattan	170 million US gallons (640,000 m3) per day	Hudson River
Oakwood Beach	Staten Island	39.9 million US gallons (151,000 m3) per day	Lower New York Bay
Rockaway	Queens	45 million US gallons (170,000 m3) per day	Jamaica Bay
Owls Head	Brooklyn	120 million US gallons (450,000 m3) per day	Upper New York Bay
Wards Island	Bronx & Manhattan	275 million US gallons (1,040,000 m3) per day	Upper East River
Tallman Island	Queens	80 million US gallons (300,000 m3) per day	Upper East River
Port Richmond	Staten Island	60 million US gallons (230,000 m3) per day	Kill Van Kull
Red Hook	Brooklyn & Governor's Island	60 million US gallons (230,000 m3) per day	Lower East River

See also

• Environmental issues in New York City
• New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police

External links

• New York City Department of Environmental Protection