Leveraging the Co-benefits of Green Infrastructure (2013)

Capstone Consulting Project for New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

New York City has an issue of limited capacity of the combined system that treats wastewater from buildings and stormwater from the streets. When it rains, the wastewater treatment plants reach their capacity and are forced to send the wastewater directly in the waterways.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has plans to invest $1.5 billion dollars by 2030 in gray and green infrastructure with the goal of capturing at least the first inch of rain.

DEP wanted a holistic approach to decide where the Grant Program for Green Infrastructure would be more efficient, generating additional benefits to the neighboring New Yorkers.

Among this benefits are:

• Urban Heat Island Reduction

• Energy Reduction

• Improved Air Quality

• Improved Quality of Life

The process has included benchmarking of best national and international practices, a visual trend analysis using ArcGIS, and development of a decision matrix for a more granular analysis and comparison of issues facing individual New York City community districts.

Authors: Ashley Claro, Theresa Formato, Samantha Huyhua, Robbie Lock, Kim Martineau, Andrea Moore, Petros Michaelides, Elizabeth O'Neill, Susana Ruge, Abigail Santner, Lee Trotman

Advisor: Kizzy Charles-Guzman

Document link. Listed on Sustainability Management Capstone Page.

Video Link.