Major Sewer Upgrade for Staten Island

Construction underway to connect neighborhood to municipal sewer system. Also, stormwater pump stations slated for rehab.

PlaNYC Recognizes Staten Island

As an inclusion in New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan for a greener city by 2030, Staten Island will receive a series of improvements to its sewer system.

Forty blocks of homes and businesses in the Annadale neighborhood bounded by Arden Avenue, North Railroad Street, Drumgoole Road East and North Railroad Street will benefit from the installation of larger water mains and improved catch basins. Some blocks will also receive enhanced storm and sanitary sewer services. The project will include expansion of the Bulebelt system of natural drainage corridors, as to improve water quality by collecting and filtering water before it enters the city’s waterways.

The construction of two new Bluebelts is also part of the Staten Island sewer improvement plan. They will total two acres in size and will be located in the Sweet Brook watershed. Because the Bluebelts require restoration of natural areas, according to Bloomberg, the city will plant approximately 450 trees on the street and within the Bluebelts, which will not only help manage storm runoff but will also help improve property values.

“Not only will it improve the quality of life for residents in Annadale, it will also improve the quality of our waterways through an expansion of the Bluebelt system, one of the 127 initiatives of PlaNYC,” said Bloomberg.

When complete in the summer of 2009, the project will allow 250 properties 220 families and 30 local businesses to discontinue the use of septic systems. Also after completion, the DDC plans to rebuild roadways as well as install new curbs and corner rounds.

The project began in the summer of 2007 and is being constructed by Department of Design and Construction on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation.

“DEP has made giving Staten Island the sewer system it deserves a top priority,” said DEP’s Commissioner Emily Lloyd. “This project has all the elements we need providing homes with connections to sewers where none existed, separating stormwater from sanitary sewage and expanding Staten Island’s Bluebelt system to detain and filter stormwater sustainably.”

DEP is currently planning several future projects to upgrade the sewer system in surrounding neighborhoods, according to Mayor Bloomberg.

Upstate Pump Stations Now Under Construction

Four stormwater pump stations used to dewater depressed highways in upstate New York have recently been evaluated for reconstruction and rehabilitation. To improve operations, accessibility and maintenance in a cost effective manner, the reconstruction will provide long term stability, safety and drainage of highway facilities, according the New York State Department of Transportation.

The four considered are located at:

• Route 130 (Broadway) at CSX Overpass in Buffalo
• Interstate 990 at Interstate 290 in Lockport
• Route 18 in Somerset
• Route 78 (Transit Road) in Depew

NYSDOT focused on the hydrology, hydraulics, structural integrity, electrical, lighting, heating and ventilation of each pump station to determine eligibility. NYSDOT will select two pump stations which have not yet been named to rehabilitate for the project.

“We can only afford to do two at this time,” said Kenneth Kuminski at NYSDOT. “The funds will be split for each pump station and the $4 million project will allow $2 million for reconstruction of each station.”

NYSDOT currently owns, operates and maintains nine pump stations in New York. “Six were rehabilitated approximately ten years ago, over a period of five or six years,” said Kuminski.

Engineering and surveying firm Nussbaumer and Clarke of Buffalo has been selected as the consultants and Watts Engineers, also of Buffalo, has been retained as the sub-consultant. The general contractor will be the lowest bid in an auction for the project.

Currently in the design process, the project’s the first phase of construction will begin in the spring of 2009 and the second phase in the spring of 2011.

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