$25 Million Sewer Upgrade Completed in New York

Photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Vincent Sapienza and Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Acting Commissioner Ana Barrio today announced the completion of construction on a $25 million sewer project in the southeast Queens neighborhood of Rosedale that will improve drainage and help to mitigate flooding. Prior to this project, most of the roadways in the area of Hook Creek Boulevard lacked adequate stormwater infrastructure, including catch basins and storm sewers, and heavy rain events contributed to local flooding. Funding for the project was provided by DEP, with DDC managing the construction.

“This project has significantly upgraded the sewer infrastructure in Rosedale, bringing some much needed relief to residents,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “The Mayor’s commitment of $1.7 billion to reduce flooding and improve the quality of life in southeast Queens means we will be able to bring similar peace of mind to even more residents in the coming years.”

As part of the project, new storm and combined sewers were constructed along portions of Hook Creek Boulevard, Brookville Boulevard, Merrick Boulevard, and the surrounding side streets from 128th Ave. to 133rd Ave. Approximately 12,000 linear feet of storm sewers, 8,700 linear feet of combined sewers and 121 catch basins were installed in the area. Additionally, while the roadway was opened to install the sewers, more than 4.5 miles of new ductile iron water mains were built to replace the older cast iron pipes. This will improve water distribution in the area and help to ensure a reliable supply of water for the future.

As part of this improved drainage system, stormwater collected in area sewers is now discharged through three new outfalls along Brookville Boulevard into new natural stilling basins adjacent to Twin Ponds. The basins slow the flow of stormwater and allow sediment to settle out before slowly draining into Twin Ponds.

This project is part of New York City Mayor de Blasio’s commitment of $1.7 billion to address flooding in southeast Queens. The bulk of the funding will go towards the construction of large trunk sewer spines along 150th Street, Guy Brewer Boulevard, Farmers Boulevard and Springfield Boulevard. This work will take place through at least 18 separate projects. Dozens of smaller local sewer projects, such as Hook Creek Boulevard, will connect neighborhoods to the trunk sewer spines.

In addition to traditional gray infrastructure projects like these, an estimated 200 curbside rain gardens will be constructed in and around Cambria Heights and Queens Village to intercept stormwater before it ever enters the sewer system. Other improvements for southeast Queens include green infrastructure components at three City parks, two public schools, and one NYCHA facility. Bluebelts are also being constructed to help manage stormwater at Springfield Lake, Baisley Pond, Twin Ponds and Brookville Triangle.

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