May
16th
Karen Argenti and Dennis Nagle leading a group of community residents around the walk inside the fence of Jerome Park Reservoir. We estimate the date around 1998-99. People love to walk on the level circumference walkway near the water.
Filed under History, Jerome Park Reservoir, Reservoir
A Memoir of the Construction, Cost, and Capacity of the Croton Aqueduct, by Charles King, New York, 1843
This is a great service of google.books (http://books.google.com/) where you can read this really old book online. It is an amazing description of the water system, how it was designed, and what it was modeled after.
The Title is: A Memoir of the Construction, Cost, and Capacity of the Croton Aqueduct Compiled from Official Documents: Together with an Account of the Civic Celebration of the Fourteenth October, 1842, on Occasion of the Completion of the Great Work: Preceded by a Preliminary Essay on Ancient and Modern Aqueducts By Charles King.
The link is:
http://books.google.com/books?id=FZ4OAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA146&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPR1,M1
Rain that runs off of a construction site must be handled in a manner that follows the SPDES permit described below and in the document. This 42 page document is effective May 1, 2008.
From the PREFACE
Pursuant to Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), stormwater discharges from certain construction activities are unlawful unless they are authorized by a NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit or by a state permit program. New York’s SPDES (State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) is a NPDES-approved program with permits issued in accordance with the Environmental Conservation Law (“ECL”).
This general permit is issued pursuant to Article 17, Titles 7, 8 and Article 70 of the ECL. An owner or operator may obtain coverage under this general permit by submitting a Notice of Intent (”NOI”) to the Department. Copies of this General Permit and the NOI for New York are available by calling (518) 402-8109 or at any Department of Environmental Conservation (“the Department”) regional office (see Appendix G).They are also available on the Department’s website at:
An owner or operator of a construction activity that is eligible for coverage under this general permit must obtain coverage prior to the commencement of construction activity. Activities that fit the definition of “construction activity”, as defined under 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(x) and (15)(i), constitute construction of a point source and therefore, pursuant to Article 17-0505 of the ECL, the owner or operator must have coverage under a SPDES permit prior to commencing construction activity. They can not wait until there is an actual discharge from the construction site to obtain permit coverage.
NYS General Stormwater for Construction Permit 2008
Filed under Storms and Runoff
May
9th
Well, I love a rainy day! Send in your photos of the rain, the runoff, the height of the latest river and/or stream, or just people getting wet! Send in the measurements of the rain inches per hour, inches per day, inches per storm, and the name of your town, city, etc.
Today it is raining in the northeast US. A big coastal storm which is good for the trees and flowers and cleans the air we breathe.
Check out the way of the water flow depending on the development status. It is really an interesting diagram. Water Cycle in an Urban Setting is from a really nice EPA booklet.
From this, you should be able to see that as we continue to change the landscape and build more and more impervious surfaces, less water can penetrate the ground. Where the water penetrate into the ground, it can be filtered naturally and will slowly end up in a water body. Where the water runs off over the impervious surface (because it can not seep into the ground), it picks up dirt and stuff along the way, and enters the water body faster and hotter than the original unchanged landscape.
We can do something about this, if those who want to change the landscape understand that there is a way to do this without harming our ecology.
Let me know what you think about this.
Filed under Storms and Runoff
This morning, our good friend from the News at City Hall, Frank Lombardi, describes the strange method by which the people of NYC are taxed once again. Thank you Frank for providing us with vital information concerning the costs, especially the fact that the DEP is spending MORE than it COLLECTS! The simple enough solution to cut costs is lost among the powers that be. Read and Enjoy!
WATER BOARD PONDERS 14.5% HIKE
FRANK LOMBARDI, Daily News City Hall Bureau, Thursday, May 8th 2008
As the Water Board mulls a 14.5% rate hike, the puzzled public wonders: Who, or what, is this (bleepin’) agency?
Think of a stacked deck in a poker game; the house - in this case, City Hall - always wins.
. . . .The collective bill to its 825,000 rate payers for the fiscal year ending June 30 is $2.24 billion. It jumps to $2.54 billion next year, hence the rate hike.
. . . . So, you could say another soaking is in the cards for the city’s property owners.
Listing of board members can be found Web site:
http://home2.nyc.gov/html/nycwaterboard/html/board_members/index.shtml.
Click on the link above to continue to read the article and comment to the Daily News, and/or return to our page for more chances to comment.
By TOM TOPOUSIS, New York Post, May 6, 2008 — A proposal to raise water and sewer rates by 14.5 percent came under fire yesterday from city lawmakers who accused Mayor Bloomberg of using some of the increase to pay for other services, such as for cops and teachers.
Click on the link above to continue to read the article and comment to the Post, and/or return to our page for more chances to comment.
May
4th
WATER & SEWER RATE REFORM SUMMIT FOLLOW-UP
University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP) has prepared a report on the impact of the rising water rates.
Click on the link above to continue to read the report and return to our page to comment.
Filed under NYC Water, Uncategorized
Paterson Nominates Executive Director for Port Authority
By PATRICK McGEEHAN, Published: May 3, 2008, New York Times
Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday that he had nominated Christopher O. Ward, a former executive with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to be the authority’s executive director. Mr. Ward, 53, would succeed Anthony E. Shorris, who was appointed to the job last year by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
. . . . click to read the whole story Story about the Chris Ward Nomination.
Click on the link above to continue to read the article and comment to the Post, and/or return to our page for more chances to comment.
A SPENDING TSUNAMI FOR ONE CITY AGENCY
NORWOOD NEWS, May 1, 2008, OP-ED: Greg Lobo Jost, University Heights Neighborhood Housing Program, This OP ED has good information for your testimony for the Water Board meetings.
. . . . thanks to a stipulation known as the “rental payment,” the more DEP spends, the more rate payers actually subsidize city coffers (this year it will be to the tune of $77 million)!. . . . This month we began to learn the truth: The real reason behind the massive increases is not the deadbeat factor but rather DEP’s unchecked spending. . . . . To learn more about this issue and ways you can take action, visit www.unhp.org and click on the link regarding water rate reform.
Click on the link above to continue to read the article and comment to the Norwood News, and/or return to our page for more chances to comment.
Filed under Bronx Media, NYC Water