April 1, 2022

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala today hosted U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox for a tour of the nation’s largest green infrastructure program that helps to manage stormwater, reduce flooding, improve air quality and protect the health of local waterways. The tour included curbside rain gardens in Queens Village and green infrastructure in Roy Wilkins Park.

While New York City’s roughly 7,500 miles of sewers and approximately 150,000 catch basins are the backbone of the stormwater drainage system, a decade ago DEP launched an ambitious Green Infrastructure Program to augment the sewer system and help to reduce overflows into local waterways. Today there are more than 11,000 green infrastructure assets built across the five boroughs and thousands more are in the pipeline. Green infrastructure is a nature-based drainage solution that has several ancillary benefits, including improving air quality, reducing summer-time temperatures and supporting biodiversity.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.8 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP also protects the health and safety of New Yorkers by enforcing the Air and Noise Codes and asbestos rules. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.