Jamaica Bay Plans to Clean New York Estuary

Jamaica Bay Plans to Clean New York Estuary

October 2007

 Many New Yorkers are not 
aware that within the confines of the five boroughs are open water, salt 
marshes, grasslands, coastal woodlands, maritime shrublands and freshwater 
wetlands. At least 90 fish species, 325 species of birds and many 
reptiles, amphibians and small mammals share portions of Brooklyn and 
Queens with human residents. 
The 39 square-mile body of water that supports these ecosystems is Jamaica 
Bay, located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of 
Brooklyn and Queens, New York City and the town of Hempstead, Nassau 
County. 
Surrounded by intensive residential, commercial, and industrial 
development, Jamaica Bay receives pollution from both municipal waste 
water discharge from three plants, combined sewer overflows, and untreated 
stormwater runoff from area roads and from the runways at John F. Kennedy 
Airport which is contaminated with de-icing chemicals. 
Contaminants leach from three large closed landfills, airborne soot and 
toxic chemicals from transportation are deposited, there is windblown 
trash, and the potential risk of spills due to water transportation of oil 
and chemical products in the bay. 
Nutrient and organic matter inputs result in phytoplankton blooms, low 
levels of light transmission, and low bottom dissolved oxygen 
concentrations. Present and historic inputs of toxics, such as 
hydrocarbons and heavy metals, have contaminated sediments in parts of the 
bay and may bioaccumulate in fish and birds. 
To address these issues, the New York City Department of Environmental 
Protection, DEP, has just released a set of strategies to restore and 
maintain the water quality and ecological integrity of Jamaica Bay. 
The Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan, which took 18 months to 
produce, recommends a series of Best Management Practices, BMPs, for 
stormwater management. 
"Jamaica Bay is a crucial environmental resource for New York City that 
must be preserved and conserved," said DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd. "The 
Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan not only provides a tool to achieve 
that goal, but it also provides the basis for testing promising 
sustainable stormwater management techniques that may be beneficial beyond 
the boundaries of the Jamaica Bay Watershed." 
The plan includes the proposal by DEP of nitrogen control methods at two 
wastewater treatment plants to reduce nutrient loading into the Bay. 
Water quality improvements will be enhanced by reintroduction of oyster 
reefs and eel grass beds. 
The Jamaica Bay effort anticipates the participation of other city 
agencies, and will be coordinated with PlaNYC's efforts to address 
citywide stormwater management issues through the Interagency BMP 
Taskforce. This body includes 14 city agencies and is coordinated by the 
Mayor's Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability as part of PlaNYC. 

"Enhancing our water quality citywide is an important part of PlaNYC. To 
do it, we have to find ways to preserve natural areas and better manage 
stormwater, and the Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan will help do 
both," said Rohit Aggarwala, director of the Mayor's Office of Long Term 
Planning and Sustainability. 
Delivered to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine 
Quinn on October 2, the plan is the result of research and dialogue with 
city stakeholders and regular consultation with the seven member Jamaica 
Bay Watershed Protection Plan Advisory Committee. 
The plan is structured around six major categories - water quality, 
restoration of the ecology, stormwater management, public education and 
outreach, public use, and implementation and coordination. 
The plan calls for ensuring that the entire New York City sewer system can 
be cleaned every seven to 10 years, and creating a sewer system 
inspection. 
It also looks at separating storm sewers from sanitary sewers and reducing 
wastewater discharges from recreational boats directly into Jamaica Bay. 
The plan offers several ideas for moderating the surge of runoff after 
precipitation events, such as monitoring the effectiveness of blue roof 
versus green roof control methodologies; distributing 1,000 rain barrels 
to homeowners; promoting rooftop detention in new construction; utilizing 
porous pavement on DEP property; and adding landscape and bioretention 
components to commercial and community facility parking lots that are 
greater than 6,000 square feet or 18 spaces. 
Looking at open space, the Jamaica Bay Plan recommends installing tree 
swales on six sites to capture runoff from roadways, implementing 
stormwater parks on additional publicly owned vacant parcels to capture 
stormwater runoff, planting street trees throughout the Jamaica Bay 
watershed; and increasing tree stocking level in East New York. 
The plan calls for a 20-mile continuous greenway loop around the Bay and a 
greenway to connect Brooklyn/Queens Greenway system to Jamaica Bay 
waterfront. The plan's greenway improvements include landscaping, a 
multi-use path, a bike rack, pedestrian ramps, and traffic signals, among 
other things. 
The plan envisions an education campaign for developers, residents and 
business owners; a State of the Bay symposium and enhancement of the 
Jamaica Bay Educational Curriculum, a resource directory. 

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