Engineering Professor Partners With NYCDEP on Stormwater Management Study

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has awarded a $500,000 contract to HDR Engineering, with Manhattan College as the major subcontractor. The award is for the study of stormwater management practices within the New York City drinking water supply watershed. The duration of the study is five years. The principal investigator for Manhattan College will be Dr. Scott Lowe, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Since 1997, NYCDEP has reviewed and approved Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans on the drinking water supply watershed (shown below in the figure). Any development activity that takes place within the water supply watershed is required to install stormwater management devices to control runoff before it discharges into local waterways. Generally these have been detention basins that temporarily store excess runoff, allowing solids to settle out and also controlling the release flowrate. This project will involve monitoring and assessing these stormwater management systems

The results of this study will allow NYCDEP to enhance the design, construction and maintenance of stormwater management practices on the watershed. Additionally the results of the study will help provide an overall evaluation of the stormwater program in preventing degradation of the New York City Water Supply.