Protecting our Harbor

As the largest municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, we carry out an expansive environmental mission. We invest billions of dollars in new infrastructure, while pioneering advancements in environmental planning and analysis, sewer design and construction, and wastewater treatment. These efforts have had a profound impact on the health of our waterbodies and today New York City Harbor is cleaner than it has been in more than a century!

Continuing to reduce and prevent pollution while protecting the overall health of the harbor requires long-term investment, public and private partnerships, and strategic planning. The NYC Stormwater Management Program Plan (the Plan)(PDF) is the City’s first comprehensive planning effort to target pollution generated in areas served by the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) which comprises nearly 40 percent of the city. The Plan is part of a comprehensive, integrated planning approach that builds upon our Long Term Control Plan Program, which has committed over $8 billion in recent years for gray and green infrastructure projects to improve water quality. This work cannot be done alone, however. All New Yorkers who live, work, and play in MS4 areas or on these impaired waterways can play an important role in both the development and implementation of these programs.

Many of the initiatives described in the Plan build off our existing operations while proposing bold new steps and actions. We have incorporated feedback from a variety of environmental organizations, neighborhood associations, and the development community while holding technical workshops, releasing progress reports, and hosting community meetings. We will continue to coordinate and engage with all of these stakeholders as we carry out our most vital job: the protection of public health and the environment for nearly nine million New Yorkers.