The next time it rains, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) wants Queens residents to wait until it stops before doing the dishes, taking a shower or flushing a toilet.
The appropriately titled “Wait…” pilot program is expanding throughout western Queens, the DEP announced on Monday. Participating homeowners and tenants are sent text messages alerting them that the Newtown Creek and Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment plants are near capacity — and that they should minimize their water use in order to prevent sewer overflows from spilling into already polluted waterways such as the Newtown Creek and Flushing Creek.
The pilot program area of Queens covers all neighborhoods north of the Jackie Robinson Parkway and west of the Van Wyck Expressway, as well as portions of Kew Gardens Hills and Briarwood.
According to advocates, the Wait Program is geared at educating the public about where their dirty water winds up after going down the drain. Wastewater produced whenever someone washes clothes or dishes, or even flushes a toilet, travels into the city’s vast underground sewer system, destined for one of many sewage treatment plants for cleanup and processing.
But in a heavy rain event, not all of the storm runoff and wastewater winds up in the sewage treatment plants. When the plants hit capacity, excess wastewater is expelled through combined sewer overflows into waterways across the city. About 90 percent of the overflow is comprised of storm runoff, and the rest is household wastewater containing detergents, chemicals and raw sewage.
Hey, how about limiting the building in these boroughs until the city gets a handle on how much waste they produce?
21 comments:
"If it's yellow, let it mellow."
You should smell the stench by the Steinway Mansion when it rains from the sewage treatment plant a half block away.
Eau de Joe.
Why just these Queens towns, they are not even close to these plants. This should apply to the tower pestilence and rowhouse apartment and brownstone converted for dorm room renting in mid and northwest Brooklyn and western Queens.
Then what the fuck did I pay those exorbitant sewer charges for? SMH...
Not only over development, how about making sure that grass and other greenery are not paved over with cement. This is one of the main reasons for run-off. What about enforcing litter laws, another issue that clogs already over-stressed sewer systems.
The answers are pretty FUCKING SIMPLE, but no, let's "wait to flush" and any other dumb ideas that the powers that be come up with. Everything except smart and in your face solutions on the many problems that plague this fucked up city.
Flush this fucking city and this administration, not that previous were any better in fact previous administration is why we have this fucking over-development.
Official proof that Queens is a third-world county, with fourth-world infrastructure.
This is some real third world crap.
"Hey, how about limiting the building in these boroughs until the city gets a handle on how much waste they produce?"
What's with the radical, subversive, communist nonsense? You want government to serve you instead of the other way around? Good luck with that Comrade! You vill not flush until it's safe, understand?
Do we need further evidence that Cannato was right when he called NYC ungovernable. Just as corporate conglomerates don't work, neither do big cities.
Here's an idea... Stop overdevoloping the place and you wont have these problems!
Not only are we the highest taxed and tolled people in our nation, soon we'll be tweeted when we are allowed to poop. Can't wait for the new tolls!
I don't think anyone is saying hold your poop,that wouldn't be too healthy.What's being said is that we should be aware of our water usage,especially during heavy rains and how this effects sewage treatment.Water conservation should be pushed by DEP all the time not just during droughts and heavy rain.NYC has access to an abundant supply of fresh water but we never know what will happen and when the supply runs dry we will feel it.I do agree that development should be halted until they can contain all sewage in heavy rain events.Things have gotten better from the bad old days but we still have a long way to go as well as much of the world.
I'm gonna bag my crap and deliver it to CB7!
They keep on rubber stamping every overdevelopment project that comes before them!
So, what about that 'continual,' rotting stench of raw sewage from de BLASS-hole's City Hall and 'Gargoyle Andy's' Albany that is choking us ALL—IN PERPETUITY?
Lock up these two giant, stinking elephant turds, and the Newtown Creek overflow will take care of itself!
This is a story on the black hole of (formerly) Calcutta, right?
Hey Anonymous - you, Mr. "Let's be aware of our water usage." Let's add this to our government's lectures on our sins: We drive too much, use too much gas. We use too much electricity. We should ride bicycles to work. We should turn the heat down. We should use less A/C. We should have wind turbines cluttering the horizon. We shouldn't burn coal. We shouldn't burn oil. We shouldn't have nuclear energy. We should have solar panels on every flat surface. We should buy electric cars (as if that solves anything). We have to reduce the speed limit (was there ever a better name for a deBlasio initiative than "Vision Zero"? Zero is right). We have to ban cars from needed road lanes. We should go to work on off hours (as if we control that). We should give up parking spaces for bikes. We should pay for outdoor homeless lounges in the middle of streets to tie up traffic. We should be happy to have homeless shelters next door to us. We should be happy to have a prison down the block. We should pay a toll to drive in midtown. We shouldn't use plastic bags. We shouldn't use PAPER bags. We should use unreliable overcrowded public transportation. We shouldn't drink soda. We shouldn't use plastic bottles. We have to follow recycling rules that only cost taxpayers more money. We have to raise tolls relentlessly to pay for the subways the MTA neglects. We should plant grass on the roof. And now, think again before you wash. Look both ways before you flush. MOST OF THE PROBLEMS (if they are problems) THESE ARE AIMED AT COULD HAVE BEEN ALLEVIATED BY BETTER GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT OF OUR CITY.
City Hall sync's craploading via twitter. This is news?
Excellent synopsis Liman. The solutions should be simple for these elected hacks, since they decided to run for office because they allegedly know much more than regular folks.
Turd Whirled
When we had cesspools instead of sewers, we were careful not to flood our yards. So after they take away our plastic bags and force us all on bicycles, are they also going to force us back to outdoor plumbing?
Just got these brochures a while back. Fricking fix the sewer system...it's just ridiculous this has to even be considered.
Well you all knew this was going to happen. With all the old one families torn down to make cement monsters with multiple dwellings how do you expect these sewers to handle all of this? You are making all these apartment buildings too on Queens Blvd how can these sewers handle it? The same with the electric. Some days my lights are dim and oh they say there is a problem in the area so fix the problem!!
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