New York City Department of Environmental Protection

[[File:Tallman Island DEP jeh.JPG|thumb|Tallman Island plant]] [[File:Rockaway sewage plant jeh.jpg|thumb|Rockaway plant]] [[File:NYC DEP sludgeboat BB jeh.jpg|thumb|Sludge boat]] The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is a City agency of nearly 6,000 employees that manages and conserves the City’s water supply; distributes more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water each day to nine million New Yorkers and collects wastewater through a vast underground network of pipes, regulators, and pumping stations; and treats the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater that New Yorkers produce each day in a way that protects the quality of New York Harbor. To achieve these mandates, DEP oversees one of the largest capital construction programs in the region. As the City agency responsible for New York City's environment, DEP also regulates air quality, hazardous waste, and critical quality of life issues, including noise. Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Carter H. Strickland, Jr. to be the Commissioner of DEP on August 17, 2011 [http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2011b%2Fpr298-11.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1].

Drinking Water

{{main|New York City water supply system}} {{Copypaste|section|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/index.shtml|date=December 2011}} New York City drinking water is world-renowned for its quality. The Department of Environmental Protection performs more than 900 tests daily, 27,000 monthly, and 330,000 on an annual basis from up to 1,000 sampling locations throughout New York City. This work is in addition to 230,000 tests performed in the watershed. Each day, more than 1 billion gallons of fresh, clean water is delivered from large upstate reservoirs – some more than 125 miles from the City – to the taps of nine million customers throughout New York state. New York City’s Watershed Protection Program is one of the most comprehensive in the world and has been so successful at protecting the integrity of New York City’s water supply that the United States Environmental Protection Agency awarded the City a 10-year Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) in 2007. The success of the program is one of the main reasons why New York City remains one of only five large cities in the United States that is not required to filter its drinking water.

Wastewater Treatment

{{Copypaste|section|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/wastewater/index.shtml|date=December 2011}} New York City’s 14 wastewater treatment plants together treat 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily. Our system combines sanitary flow, created each time a New Yorker turns on a tap, runs a washing machine or flushes a toilet, and runoff that enters our sewers whenever it rains or snows.

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Wastewater Treatment Plants

Plant	Service area	Size	Discharges to
26th Ward	Eastern [[Brooklyn]]	{{convert|85|e6USgal|m3}} per day	[[Jamaica Bay]]
Bowery Bay	Northeast [[Queens]]	{{convert|150|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Upper [[East River]]
Coney Island	South & Central Brooklyn	{{convert|110|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Jamaica Bay
Hunts Point	Eastern [[Bronx]]	{{convert|200|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Upper East River
Jamaica	Southern Queens	{{convert|100|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Jamaica Bay
Newtown Creek	[[Manhattan]], Brooklyn, Queens	{{convert|310|e6USgal|m3}} per day	East River
[[North River Wastewater Treatment Plant|North River]]	Manhattan	{{convert|170|e6USgal|m3}} per day	[[Hudson River]]
Oakwood Beach	[[Staten Island]]	{{convert|39.9|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Lower [[New York Bay]]
Rockaway	Queens	{{convert|45|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Jamaica Bay
Owls Head	Brooklyn	{{convert|120|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Upper New York Bay
Wards Island	Bronx & Manhattan	{{convert|275|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Upper East River
Tallman Island	Queens	{{convert|80|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Upper East River
Port Richmond	Staten Island	{{convert|60|e6USgal|m3}} per day	[[Kill Van Kull]]
Red Hook	Brooklyn & [[Governor's Island]]	{{convert|60|e6USgal|m3}} per day	Lower East River

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Harbor Water

{{Copypaste|section|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/harborwater/index.shtml|date=December 2011}} According to the city's most recent Harbor Survey Report, the Harbor is cleaner now than at any time in the last 100 years. Continued improvements to sewage handling and treatment are chiefly responsible for continued improvements to water quality, which have led to increased recreational opportunities such as swimming and fishing. The agency also employs a fleet of boats that are used to monitor the waters and the shoreline for water quality and sources of pollution. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/harborwater/harborwater_quality_survey.shtml

NYC Green Infrastructure Plan

{{Copypaste|section|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/using_green_infra_to_manage_stormwater.shtml|date=December 2011}} In September 2010, Mayor Bloomberg announced the NYC Green Infrastructure Plan which presents an alternative approach to improving water quality that integrates “green infrastructure,” such as swales and green roofs, with investments to optimize the existing system and to build targeted, cost-effective “grey” or traditional infrastructure. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/nyc_green_infrastructure_plan.shtml

Strategy 2011-2014

{{Copypaste|section|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/about_dep/dep_strategic_plan.shtml|date=December 2011}} The strategic plan and the 100 distinct initiatives it contains, was announced in 2011 and explains DEP's blueprint to become the safest, most effective, cost-efficient, and transparent water utility in the nation over the next four years and beyond. DEP’s core mission is to supply and distribute more than one billion gallons of high-quality water to nine million New Yorkers every day, and to treat the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater we generate daily so that it has the smallest possible impact on water quality in New York Harbor. Beyond these core utility functions, we are also responsible for improving air quality, reducing noise pollution, and protecting New Yorkers from hazardous substances — like asbestos and chemicals found at dry cleaners, auto body repair shops, hospitals, and factories. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/strategic_plan/dep_strategy_2011.pdf

Commissioners

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Commissioner	Served
Carter H. Strickland, Jr	2011-Present
Caswell F. Holloway, IV	2010-2011
Steve Lawitts (Interim)	2008-2009
Emily Lloyd	2005-08
Christopher Ward	2002-04
Joel Miele	1996-2002
Marilyn Gerber	1994-96
Albert Appleton	1990-93
Harvey Schultz	1986-89
Joe McGough	1982-86
Frank McArdle	1978-81

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See also

*[[Environmental issues in New York City]] *[[New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police]]

External links

*[http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/ New York City Department of Environmental Protection] {{New York City Government}}