New York City's drinking water supply is thoroughly tested from its sources to the city delivery system. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd details these and other protective measures undertaken to ensure water quality, and welcomes city residents to obtain free home testing kits from 311. The DEP Emerging Leaders Network Mixer will be held at the Rego Community Center. Essay in memoriam of former Deputy Chief Engineer Victor Felgelman, P.E., of the Board of Water Supply.
Eight veteran officers in the Department of Environmental Protection Police Division have been promoted and one 21-year veteran has retired. Aluminum covers and odor control units are being installed at the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mayor de Blasio and the Metropolitan Engineering Societies Council create an annual Engineer's Week in New York City, which will run this year from February 21-27.
More than 100 positions are on offer in the Department of Environmental Protection's 2016 summer internship program. DEP will also participate in the New York City Summer Youth Employment and Ladders for Leaders programs. Expanded storm sewers in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn are to be installed this spring, in cooperation with the Department of Design and Construction. DEP will clean and repair headstones at the Pepacton Cemetery in Delaware County.
The Department of Environmental Protection has published its 2015 Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report in accordance with New York State and United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Three New York City hospitals have joined a program to reduce water consumption by 5 percent per month, for a planned reduction of 2.2 million gallons over the same period. NY1 news published a story on the $3 million odor control project being installed at the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Despite the lack of snow in upstate watersheds, winter rains have ensured full reservoir levels. Furthermore, there is little historical connection between low snow levels and drought conditions. Rain barrels were distributed to about 200 homeowners in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx. Staff from the Bureau of Water Supply offered information and access permit registrations at the 39th Annual World Fishing & Outdoor Expo at Rockland County Community College.
The Department of Environmental Protection has published its annual Watershed Recreation Newsletter for the benefit of watershed residents and visitors. The Bureau of Public Affars & Communications has contacted 25,000 homes in southeast Queens to educate about improper grease disposal. DEP staff also performed a citywide affort to educate New Yorkers about water leaks and the means to repair them.
A three-year climate and stormwater management collaboration program with the City of Copenhagen has begun with a series of tours in Brooklyn and Queens. A sewer upgrade project has been presented to Bronx Community Board 11, which is designed to intercept 400 million gallons of annual pollution that would otherwise discharge into Westchester Creek. Approximately 80 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided by the Department of Environmental Protection's participation in the New York City Demand Response Program.
The Filtration Avoidance Determination, which allows the Catskill-Delaware system of New York City's water supply to operate unfiltered, is to be renewed this year. This permit is required by the Surface Water Treatment Rule of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. A New York Times article titled How New York Gets its Water examines the methods and infrastructure of the City's water supply system.
The Department of Environmental Protection proposes a 2.1% increase in the Fiscal Year 2017 water rate, which is the lowest figure in the past 16 years. Twenty-two reservoirs and lakes were opened for this year's watershed recreation season on April 1. A $48 million water and sewer upgrade project in the Great Kills and Eltingville neighborhoods of Staten Island is currently underway.