NYC sewage system woes (11/23/2009)

The New York Times has a great article today on the state of the NYC sewage system.  Many of the problems discussed are similar to what the greater Boston area faces .  These include decrepit infrastructure and rainwater being routed into the sewage system instead of absorbed into the ground.

See the CRWA’s Blue Cities page on rainwater reclamation and the CRWA’s sewer separation page for information on ongoing projects to address these chronic problems.

This is a great article, please take the time to read it.  The full article is available here.

Some interesting excerpts:

In the last three years alone, more than 9,400 of the nation’s 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.

…

Several years ago, city officials estimated that it would cost at least $58 billion to prevent all overflows. “Even 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,” the department wrote. “It would, however, increase the average N.Y.C. water and sewer bill by 80 percent.”