A New Assessment of Water Infrastructure: Water quality, … · 2014-12-04 · Water...
Transcript of A New Assessment of Water Infrastructure: Water quality, … · 2014-12-04 · Water...
A New Assessment of
Water Infrastructure:
Water quality, economics,
and smart growth at the
watershed scale
Sri Vedachalam, Brian G. Rahm and
Susan J. Riha
New York State Water
Resources Institute
Cornell University
• $36.2 Billion to repair, replace and update over 20 years • Federal funding through Clean Water Act has reduced
from $2.4 billion (1987) to $687 million (2008) – a 70% drop.
“Adequate water infrastructure funding is a critical component of urban revitalization, smart economic growth and property tax relief. It is essential for the protection of public health and environment.” – Wastewater Infrastructure Needs of New York State, NYSDEC
• 24% of declines in 30 year stream water quality due to organic waste and/or municipal & industrial inputs
“Many of these declines (in water quality) are considered to be caused by aging infrastructure, specifically wastewater treatment plants that were built or upgraded in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and are now functioning beyond capacity or at reduced levels of efficiency.” – 30 Year Trends in Water Quality of Rivers & Streams in NY State, NYSDEC
Hudson Basin Wastewater Inventory Analysis – Why Now?
New York State Water Resources Institute
A regional wastewater inventory
Assist planners and policy-makers at various
government levels
Generate insight on the strategic management of federal
and state funds
Ultimately support the maintenance and improvement of
New York’s public health and environmental assets
Goals
POTW capacity and room for growth
Source water quality: protection vs. remediation
Funding priorities and need for assessment
Potential for consolidation/cooperation and decentralized
treatment
Objectives
NYSPDES database
EPA ECHO compliance database
U.S. Census
NYSDEC Waterbody Inventory and Priority
Waterbodies List; TMDL status
NYSDEC Intended Use Plan, Clean Water
State Revolving Fund for Water Pollution
Control
Sources
New York State Water Resources Institute
>200 >100 25-50 <25
Years until POTW capacity reached at current growth rate
Smart growth & excess capacity
MG
D o
f ex
cess
cap
acit
y at
eac
h f
acili
ty
New York State Water Resources Institute
Headwater protection
1 – 2 % 5 – 6 % 14 – 15 %
% of stream length (not including the Hudson main stem) located downstream of POTW
New York State Water Resources Institute
<200 350-400 >500
Funds requested per capita on multi-year CWSRF project list ($000,000)
0 0-5 40-45
% Total Capacity that could be involved in consolidation
Funding equity and scope for municipal cooperation
New York State Water Resources Institute
0 5 10
# of POTWs discharging to Unassessed streams
Stream water quality assessment
Decentralization & the role of small systems
Soil suitability for septic in the Hudson
watershed counties
Percentage of total soil area in a county
that is either classified as ‘not limiting’ or
‘somewhat limiting’
Essex
Hamilton
Ulster
Warren
Greene
Dutchess
Albany
Rensselaer
Schenectady
Orange
Saratoga
Columbia
Fulton
Westchester
Putnam
Rockland
<25 25-35 >35
Washington
New York State Water Resources Institute
Typology and strategy by
sub-watershed
Hudson-Hoosic
Abundant excess capacity
Concentrated capacity in 1-2 urban cores
Headwaters relatively unaffected by POTWs
Not an immediate target for stream assessment
What could smart growth mean here?
- Maximize/promote infill; maintain current
wastewater infrastructure
Rondout
Capacity a critical concern
Distributed capacity across sub-region
Headwaters sensitive to POTW operation
Multiple candidates for assessment
- Consider expanding wastewater infrastructure; try to
minimize impact in sensitive headwaters
New York State Water Resources Institute
Conclusions & future directions
Some regions have excess capacity, while others do not. POTW capacity
is only one of the considerations for future planning
Stream lengths in some regions are impacted more by POTWs.
Effective use of federal funds depends on the goal. Consideration by
stream length, effluent treated and population impacted can lead to
different results.
All POTWs built after 1981 are small.
Only 2 plants have capacity larger than 2 MGD.
Rest have capacity less than 0.5 MGD.
Potential for consolidation among certain POTWs exists, although specific
cases need further investigation.
Decentralized wastewater treatment can be an alternative to small
POTWs in certain communities.
Some counties are more suited than others.
Site-specific analyses needed.
New York State Water Resources Institute
Coordinated Projects (Cornell University)
Project Title: New life for New York's marine highways and inland ports: A case study of the port of Albany PI: Dr. Susan Christopherson Issues Addressed: Economic vitality; Smart growth
Project Title: Water withdrawals and their impact on valued fish (brook trout) habitat PI: Dr. Bill Fisher
Issues Addressed: Integrated management; Source-water protection
Project Title: Hudson water and sewer smart growth infrastructure PI: David Kay Issues Addressed: Integrated management; Smart growth
Project Title: Innovative approaches to making a business case for water resource management PI: Dr. Mark Milstein
Issues Addressed: Economic vitality; Integrated management Project Title: Green infrastructure, water quality, and GHG emissions PI: Dr Todd Walter Issues Addressed: Infrastructure effectiveness; Integrated management Project Title: Geospatial analysis as a tool for identifying critical land use and infrastructure impacts on regional environmental water quality PI: Dr. Peter Woodbury Issues Addressed: Infrastructure effectiveness; Integrated management; Source-water protection
Project Title: New York state wastewater treatment inventory analysis PI: Dr. Sridhar Vedachalam Issues Addressed: Infrastructure effectiveness; Economic vitality; Integrated management; Smart growth; Source-water protection
In addition to the projects listed above, WRI staff and interns, in cooperation with HREP and MRBP staff will conduct research related to infrastructure effectiveness, economic vitality, integrated management, smart growth, and source-water protection. For more information on these efforts please contact either Brian Rahm ([email protected]) or Sri Vedachalam ([email protected]).
For information on the HREP and MRBP Action Agendas please see: HREP - http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrepaabroch.pdf MRBP - http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/water_pdf/mohawkaafnl2010.pdf
Competitive Projects
Project Title: Relative abundance of blueback herring in relation to permanent and removable dams on the Mohawk River PI: Dr. Neil Ringler Institution: SUNY ESF Issues Addressed: Infrastructure effectiveness; Integrated management Project Title: Pollution trade-offs associated with the use of riparian zones as best management practices PI: Dr. Philippe Vidon Institution: SUNY ESF Issues Addressed: Integrated management; Source-water protection Project Title: Wetland mitigation of infill development: an evaluation of green infrastructure effectiveness in a near-urban setting PI: Dr. Mary Ann Cunningham Institution: Vassar College Issues Addressed: Infrastructure effectiveness; Integrated management; Source-water protection Project Title: Digitizing a 70-year record of land use change in New York State watersheds to examine the effectiveness of non-structural landscape modification on flood control PI: Dr. Stephen Shaw Institution: SUNY ESF Issues Addressed: Integrated management; Source-water protection Project Title: Land use leadership alliance training program: Integrating watershed protection into land use decisions PI: Tiffany B Zezula Institution: Pace University Issues Addressed: Integrated management; Smart growth
Suggestions & Questions
This work is supported by the USGS and the Hudson River Estuary Program of the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation
New York State Water Resources Institute