OPEN SEWER ATLAS NYC

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2019 data update

Check out our data page for updated and new shapefiles! We now have links and shapefiles to DEP’s recently released MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) drainage areas and stormwater outfalls, as well as new versions of some of our old CSO shapefiles. These will soon be integrated into our interactive map!

Major thanks to our GIS friends at the Nature Conservancy for pointing out some of the shapefiles now available on NYC Open Data and other resources! If you see any additions that could be made to Open Sewer Atlas NYC, don’t hesitate to reach out:  [email protected]

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I’m proud to announce that Open Sewer Atlas won 3rd place for both the Mayor Civics Award and the Most Creative Award in an NYC Open Data contest! Thank you to all those that have supported the project and made use of the maps and data we’ve developed. NYC Open Data featured our work on this project page: https://opendata.cityofnewyork.us/projects/open-sewer-atlas-nyc/ Check it out!

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Our brand new Staten Island map includes DEP’s innovative Bluebelt stormwater management system for the mid and south parts of Staten Island!

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An updated Alley Creek and Coney Island Creek maps are now available for download! Check out the resources page for links to download these and the rest of Open Sewer Atlas’ fold out maps!

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CSOs - know when it flows!

Other cities have versions of a CSO advisory to provide the public with real-time information about when a CSO may be happening. Check out these great interactive web tools!

North Hudson Sewerage Authority Waterbody Advisory System

This site allows you to click on a CSO to see the last records of CSO events. On a rainy CSO day, some of these CSOs would be red to indicate active CSO. This map is based on sensors (not models).

NJ CSO

This map shows municipalities that may be experiencing a CSO, based on modeled input. This empowers people located in those drainage areas to know if their sewage may be going into the waterways, and to respond appropriately by conserving water.

Chicago River sewage overflows

This map does not provide real time updates, but it does provide a helpful visual for the largest CSOs in Chicago. The volume of CSO has varied greatly from year to year, as discussed in this article. 

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With many thanks to Gowanus Canal Conservancy, we have a new Gowanus Canal sewershed map! This map is different from our previous maps, as it details the green and grey infrastructure planned or implemented in the sewershed, and how much more infrastructure we’ll need to get to ZERO CSO! This is a ton of information on these maps - so take a close look!

You can download the new map from our resources page. Pick up a paper copy from us (email [email protected]) or Gowanus Canal Conservancy. 

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Thanks to a grant from Patagonia, we were able to partner with the SWIM Coalition to create a map of the lower East River, from the Battery to Wards Island. Download this map from the resources page, or request a map by emailing [email protected]

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Data and map update!

Open Sewer Atlas NYC has just updated a ton of shapefiles and developed new interactive maps!

Since Open Sewer Atlas NYC was founded three years ago, access to data has improved and been refined, thanks to developments in the City’s Long Term Control Plans and Green Infrastructure program. Open Sewer Atlas NYC will continue to evolve as more data becomes available, and make this data available for you to use! Over the past year, we’ve updated many of our shapefiles (check our data page!), developed a new water quality map, maps specifically for dry weather and wet weather conditions, and updated our original interactive map. All of our new maps can be found at openseweratlas.tumblr.com/maps

Enjoy!

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Open Sewer Atlas NYC is partnering with Gowanus Canal Conservancy to determine how much CSO we can mitigate from one specific outfall, OH-007, and the Gowanus watershed at large. Many thanks to GCC for inviting us to table at EXPO Gowanus last weekend - what a beautiful and inspiring event!

In a 1.2 inch rainstorm (95% or rain events in NYC), there are roughly 9 million gallons of stormwater and wastewater being dumped into the canal. How can we, through green infrastructure and water conservation, bring that number to zero? Download our OH-007 fact sheet on our resources page to find out!

Note that the city will be installing a 4 million gallon CSO tank at OH-007, as part of the Superfund cleanup. That will make a huge difference, but that leaves 5 million gallons of water we still have to manage!

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What to do with the city’s stinkiest water bodies

By Len Maniace The coming months are likely to be crucial for the future of two of our city’s most odiferous water bodies, both in name and in fact. New York State is expected to rule on plans by N…

On Saturday March 5th, we partnered with Riverkeeper, Guardians of Flushing Bay and SWIM Coalition for a Community Meeting on Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek. We released the latest edition of our Open Sewer Atlas map: the Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek watershed map, which will be available on our website soon. Thank you Planet NYC for featuring our map in your coverage of the event!

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Happy New Year!

from Open Sewer Atlas NYC. It’s been almost a year since we launched our interactive map, and we’ve had countless requests for the GIS files. So we’ve made our GIS files available for download on our resources page under ONE condition! You must use them wisely and cautiously. These datasets are NOT OFFICIAL and have not been vetted by NYC DEP. We have updated them manually ourselves to reflect the most current publicly available documents, but may not truly reflect the actual infrastructure. Please use these GIS files for illustrative and educational purposes only. Contact NYC DEP for questions regarding official data (and let us know if you get anywhere!). Oh and if you don’t mind, cite Open Sewer Atlas NYC if you use our GIS files :)

Have a happy and productive 2016! Stay tuned for a revamp of our interactive map! (Our New Years resolution ;)  )

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This fall, we’ve had the distinct pleasure of going out on the water with Riverkeeper, thanks to the enduring work of Captain John Lipscomb. We got to see where industry meets water on Flushing Creek & Bay, Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek, and the recovery of wildlife and potential for recreation on all these waterways. Among the adventures, we found a discarded pet - a red-eared slider - floating in the Gowanus Canal. Though rescued from the salty canal water, the freshwater turtle didn’t make it past two days.

Riverkeeper has been the star of local news lately. Check out the articles on Newtown Creek in the Brooklyn Ink, Public Advocate Letitia James’ trip on Flushing Bay in the Queens Courier, and a podcast about water infrastructure on the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC. We’re proud to work closely with such influential water advocates!

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As Dragon Boaters and fishermen know, Flushing Creek has some of the worst water quality in New York City.The Long Term Control Plan by the city government must reduce the amount of pollution in the waterways of New York City to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection improvements to aging sewer infrastructure and wastewater treatment plants have greatly improved local water quality in recent decades, but this plan (nyc.gov/html/dep/html/cso_long_term_control_plan/flushing_creek_ltcp.shtml) doesn’t do enough to actually reduce sources of pollution.

Queens Chronicle has a great write up on the city’s long term plans for Flushing Creek. Open Sewer Atlas NYC is currently researching the Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek watershed and sewersheds, and will have a new sewershed map of the region by the end of the year. Stay tuned!

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After our workshop series in September, we have a few downspout planters to give out! Contact [email protected] if you would like to take one home!

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A new series of environmental workshops aspires to get North Brooklyn businesses to take on a greater role in water conservation and invest in green

Thank you Greenpoint Gazette for covering our workshop series!

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We’ve been spreading awareness in the neighborhood with these sidewalk chalkings and these bioswale tags! The chalkings point to the storm drain, which during CSO events would convey stormwater runoff combined with sewage into Newtown Creek. The bioswale tags have information in English and Español about bioswales and their role in managing stormwater. (DISCLAIMER! These tags were designed and produced by the Grey to Green team, and have not been approved by NYC DEP) The tags and stencil are available for download on our resources page.

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Join our workshop series starting next week! As part of our collaborative project with Newtown Creek Alliance.