Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System

Stormwater Advisory Group Meeting

October 4, 2017

2

Agenda

2

1. MS4 Permit and Stormwater Management Program Overview

2. Media Campaign Update: Don’t Trash Our Waters

3. Bag Challenge

4. SWMP Chapter 11 - Control of Floatable and Settleable Trash and Debris

Overview

a. Loading Rate Draft Work Plan

5. Next Steps

6. Adjournment

3

MS4 Permit and Stormwater Management Program

MS4 Outfalls: 357

MS4 Drainage Area:

84,300 ac; 40% of the City

In August 2015 the State

issued the City an MS4

Permit which seeks to

manage urban sources of

stormwater runoff to

protect overall water

quality and improve water

quality in impaired waters.

In response, the City is

developing a Stormwater

Management Program

(SWMP).

4

Stormwater Management Program (SWMP)

1. Public Education and Outreach

2. Public Involvement/Participation

3. Mapping

4. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination

5. Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control

6. Post-Construction Stormwater Management

7. Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations and Facilities

8. Industrial and Commercial StormwaterSources

9. Control of Floatable and Settleable Trash and Debris

10. Monitoring and Assessment of Controls

11. Reliance on Third Parties

12. Recordkeeping

13. Annual Reporting

14. Annual Report Certification

Stormwater Management Program (SWMP): is a comprehensive plan

that describes how the City will address pollution in stormwater

discharges through Best Management Practices (BMPs) and other

controls.

5

Media Campaign Update

6

Media Campaigns

Clean Streets = Clean Beaches B.Y.O. Campaign

Don’t Trash Our Waters Talk Trash New York

7

Don’t Trash Our Waters - Bronx River

Red

markers –

Bus

Shelters

with the

Don’t

Trash Our

Waters

Posters

8

Don’t Trash Our Waters- Coney Island Creek

Red –

Bus

Shelters

Blue –

Large

Signs

Green –

Subway

Turnstiles

9

Don’t Trash Our Waters- Coney Island Creek

Raising Awareness with an event at New York Aquarium.

• Gave away 1,000 free tickets to the Aquarium

• Gave away 200 water bottles

• Gave away 100 reusable bags

10

Don’t Trash Our Waters- Coney Island Creek

Reaching New Yorkers when they are out and about

11

Don’t Trash Our Waters

Reaching New Yorkers when they are online

• During first iteration of social campaign, DEP had 872,460 impressions and 14,624 link clicks to

nyc.gov/trashfreewaters

12

Don’t Trash Our Waters

New Yorkers are sharing the message!

13

Bag Challenge Update

14

The Bag Challenge

The Bag Challenge:

The Bag Challenge is designed to target upstream prevention by encouraging behavior changes in

both retailers and consumers. This program will challenge participating supermarkets and grocery

stores to reduce their distribution of single-use bags by 5% over the course of the challenge.

The Bag Challenge aims to educate the supermarket industry and the communities they serve on how

their land-based operations and decisions directly impact surrounding waterbodies by utilizing a

combination of:

• Public outreach

• Market-based research

• Creative messaging

15

The Bag Challenge Components

Component 1: The Challenge

Who?

What?

Where?

Why?

How?

The Bag Challenge targets Grocery Stores & Supermarkets

This program will target stores located within the Jamaica Bay Watershed, an

important ecological resource that is currently listed as impaired for floatables.

This program will challenge participating supermarkets and grocery stores to

reduce their distribution of single-use bags by 5% over the course of the challenge

The Bag Challenge aims to raise awareness and educate the supermarket

industry and consumers how our land-based actions directly impact water quality.

To achieve our stated goals, The Bag Challenge will utilize a combination of

workshops, outreach, creative branding and messaging to raise awareness and

educate communities. Additionally, the program will conduct behavioral research to

collect data and establish meaningful metrics for measuring success.

16

The Bag Challenge

Target Area:

17

The Bag Challenge Components

• Surveys, interviews and observational

research will allow us to gain insight

into the number of people using

reusable bags versus those using

single-use bags, as well as overall

consumer trends.

• This will provide us with a deeper

understanding of what drives

consumer decisions.

• A consultant will design an

appropriate methodology for

collecting data over the

course of the challenge.

• As the program progresses, these

factors will continue to be monitored

to identify whether or not there are

changes in behavior.

• Data, both quantitative and

qualitative, will be collected and

analyzed at the conclusion of The Bag

Challenge to help determine the

effectiveness of the program.

Component 2: Behavioral Research

Research Design Data Collection Data Analysis

18

Control of Floatable and Settleable Trash and

Debris - SWMP Overview

19

Chapter 11 Outline

Chapter 11: Control of Floatable and Settleable Trash and Debris

1. Existing Programs

2. Floatable and Settleable Trash and Debris Management Program

Development

1. Loading Rate Work Plan

2. Evaluation of Existing Programs

3. Review of Available Technologies and Controls

4. Methodology for Selecting Technologies and Controls

3. Media Campaign

4. Measurable Goals and Program Assessment

20

Floatables Loading Rate Work Plan

Timeline

August 1, 2017

August 1, 2018

Within 3 months

of DEC approval

Within 2 years of

DEC approval

Within 3 years of

commencement of

study

Submit a draft work plan for determining amount of floatables discharged

from the MS4 to waterbodies listed as impaired for floatables for DEC

review and approval.

Propose a schedule to determine the floatables loading rate from the MS4

to waterbodies listed as impaired for floatables in the MS4 areas.

Submit a final proposed work plan for determining floatables loading rate,

to be included in the SWMP.

Commence a study to determine the floatables loading rate using the

approved work plan.

Complete study to determine the floatables loading rate using the

approved work plan.

Draft Work Plan

Draft Work Plan Milestones:

• Submitted to New York State DEC on

August 1, 2017

• Posted online on August 1, 2017

• Presented to Public on October 4, 2017

• Public Comments are due by Monday

October 16, 2017 to MS4@dep.nyc.gov

• Final Work Plan due with the SWMP on

August 1, 2018

22

Overview of Draft Work Plan

Review of Methodologies to

Determine Loading Rates

• Los Angeles, CA

• Baltimore City & County, MD

• Washington, DC

• San Francisco, CA

• New York, NY

Advantages and Disadvantages of

Different Methodologies

• Metrics

• Factors

Proposed Methodology for NYC

• Overview

• Justification

• Implementation

23

Review Of Other Municipalities

Factors Affecting Loading Rates Field Monitoring Overview

Municipality

Land

Use

Median

Income

Street

Sweeping Rainfall

Field

Sampling Metric

Site

Type

Los Angeles, CA Yes No No No Yes Volume

Catch

Basin

Baltimore City and

County, MD Yes No No Yes Yes Weight Outfall

Washington, DC Yes No No Yes Yes Weight Outfall

San Francisco, CA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Volume

Catch

Basin

Select representative sites

Conduct field monitoringAnalyze data to calculate

loading rate

Details

General Strategy

24

Findings from Past NYC Studies

o Street-litter level

o Street sweeping (frequency and efficiency)

o Rainfall

o Length of curb in the catchment

o Catch basin hoods

o Presence of booms or nets

Key Factors

DEP has conducted multiple field studies between 1993 and 2005 to

understand the factors affecting floatables loads in NYC.

25

Advantages & Disadvantages

Litter Generation RatesMetric

Weight

Relatively easy to measure

More susceptible to skewing

Volume

Relatively easy to measure

Less susceptible to skewing

Rainfall

Not Included

Simpler analysis

Doesn’t establish relationship with

rainfall

Included

More complex analysis

Establishes relationship with rainfall

Land Use

Readily available information

Not a great proxy

Requires single/dominant land use

Land Use Plus

Readily available information

Better proxy

Requires single/dominant land use

Observed Litter Levels

Not always readily available

Actual litter data

Does not require single/dominant

land use

26

Street Catch Basin Sewer Waterway

PedestriansVehicles

Improper Trash Management

Street Sweeping

PedestriansVehicles

Catch Basin Cleaning

In-line and End-Of-Pipe

Capture

Sources

Proper Disposal

In-Water Capture

Overview of Proposed Methodology

DEP has proposed a hybrid approach that combines field

measurements used by other municipalities and existing DEP floatables

model

Measure floatables

entering MS4

27

Overview of Proposed Methodology

Select representative sites

Conduct field monitoringAnalyze data to calculate

loading rate

General Strategy

o Based on prior

knowledge of key

factors affecting

floatables loads in

NYC

o Sample at manholes

to isolate load to

waterways from the

MS4

o Use existing model to

check data and

calculate loading rate

Factors Affecting Loading Rates Field Monitoring Overview

Litter

Level Land Use

Catch

Basins

Street

Sweeping Rainfall

Field

Sampling Metric Site Type

Yes Selectively Yes Yes Yes Yes Volume

Catch

Basin

Details

28

Selecting Representative Catch Basins

Major characteristics determining

floatables loading rate for a catch

basin are:

• Catch basin attributes

o hood vs. no hood

• Tributary characteristics

o street litter levels

o street cleaning frequency

Additionally, NYC will select catch

basins along arterial highways and

within parks. These catch basins may

have different loading rates from DEP

catch basins based on:

o Design

o Land use

o Maintenance

Category

Catch Basin

Attributes

Street

Litter

Level

Street

Sweeping

Frequency

Sites per

Category

1 Hooded High High 3

2 Hooded High Med 3

3 Hooded High Low 3

4 Hooded Med High 3

5 Hooded Med Med 3

6 Hooded Med Low 3

7 Hooded Low High 3

8 Hooded Low Med 3

9 Hooded Low Low 3

10 Unhooded High High 3

11 Unhooded High Med 3

12 Unhooded High Low 3

13 Unhooded Med High 3

14 Unhooded Med Med 3

15 Unhooded Med Low 3

16 Unhooded Low High 3

17 Unhooded Low Med 3

18 Unhooded Low Low 3

19 Arterial Highway Typical N/A 3

20 Within Parks Typical N/A 3

Total # of catch basins sites to monitor: 60

29

Monitoring Representative Catch Basins

• Duration: ~7 months capturing seasonality

• Floatables Metric: volume

• Rate Metric: annual average

• Method: baskets located in manholes

• Sampling Frequency: weekly

• Estimated Number of Samples: ~1680

Monitoring Details

30

Analyzing Data and Calculating Loading Rate

Establish unit loading rates by catch basin category, normalized by

catchment size and rainfall frequency/amount

Ensure that results are scalable and logical

– This could include application of existing floatables model

Establish conditions for calculation of loading rate:

– Loading rate can be calculated for conditions different from the

monitoring period such as long-term average rain pattern or extent of

catch basin hooding

Determine loading rate for each catch basin in MS4 by multiplying

appropriate unit loading rate by catchment size and days of accumulation

Sum calculated loading rates to establish total volume per year

Analyze Data

Calculate Loading Rate

31

Justification for Proposed Methodology

Considers factors beyond land

use

Utilizes institutional knowledge

and already developed tools

Provides opportunities to update

previous assessments

Isolates floatables contribution at

the entry point to the MS4

32

Questions?

33

Next Steps!

• Join our Social Media Challenge!

• Tag a photo of yourself throwing something away, recycling, or participating in

a cleanup event!

• Post it by October 9, 2017 with #donttrashourwaters

• Winner will receive a DEP Swag Bag and Tickets to the Open House NY

Digester Egg Tour on October 14th