Advanced Industrial Stormwater Management in Dense Urban Environments: Lessons from New York City
Keywords:
Industrial stormwater management, Urban hydrology, Green infrastructure, Combined sewer overflow, New York CityAbstract
The high rate of urbanization, the growing rate of industrialization, and climate-related events of extreme precipitation have greatly increased the complexity of the stormwater management demands in major cities around the world. The city of New York (NYC) has a high impervious surface coverage, antiquated mixed sewerage systems, and dense industrial land cover, indicating that it is a high-risk location regarding the assessment of advanced industrial stormwater management control measures. The study is a literature-based systematic investigation of the success of modern stormwater management strategies in use in industrial areas in NYC, specifically focusing on hybrid green-through gray infrastructure systems. The study conducted a synthesis of regulatory reports, hydrological monitoring datasets, and empirical studies by peer reviewers in order to determine quantitative results regarding runoff volume reduction, reduction of pollutant loads, and combined sewer overflow (CSO) control with the help of a secondary-data-driven research design. It has been shown that the following advanced industrial stormwater interventions have been associated with significant decreases in total suspended solids, nutrient loads and peak runoff volumes: bioswales, green roofs, subsurface detention systems and smart monitoring technologies, and also improved regulatory compliance in federal and municipal systems. In addition, it has been indicated that integrated infrastructure models would be more efficient in terms of cost and the benefits of resilience over the long term than the traditional end-of-pipe solutions. The novelty of the study consists in the synthesis of the industrial-scale stormwater management in the dense urban morphology with a specific focus on the and explicit connection of technological performance, regulatory implementation, and environmental performance. This study can be generalized to policymakers, urban planners and industrial stakeholders wishing to develop robust data-driven stormwater infrastructure in comparably limited urban areas by generalizing empirical experiences in NYC.
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