The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has received its sixth out of a total eleven shipments of steel liners for repairing the Delaware Aqueduct between Newburgh and Wappinger on the Hudson River. Nesting boxes for peregrine falcons on the towers of three NYC bridges are monitored by DEP research scientist Christopher Nadareski, who proceeds to place identifying bands on any new hatchlings. Three DEP teams competed in the Operations Challenge statewide competition held at the New York Water Environment Association's conference in Rochester, New York. Construction has been completed on a $5.5 million sewer installation project in West Brighton, Staten Island.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released its 2017 Water Conservation Report, detailing the progress made under various programs to advance water use efficiency. One of DEP's sludge vessels, the M/V Hunts Point, has been repaired and retrofitted at the Caddell Drydock on Staten Island. A workshop will be hosted at Civic Hall on June 14 to explain eligibility and application details for funding available through the DEP's Green Infrastructure Grant Program.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2017 Summer Intern Program is underway, with over 150 participants from across the country. The first official class of DEP participants has graduated from the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Program , which aims to reduce waste and/or errors in business processes. The Children's Museum of Manhattan is once again featuring Dynamic H2O, an outdoor water exhibit housed in the Sussman Environmental Center that allows children and their families to better understand how New York City's complex water supply system works.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been awarded the #1 rank in customer satisfaction among water utilities in the Northeast Region by the J.D. Power 2017 Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. DEP and the Department of Design and Construction have begun work on a $95 million project to clean Pugsley Creek in the South Bronx. An asphalt lot at Public School 120Q in Flushing, Queens, will be renovated into a green playground. DEP hosted a Family Fishing Day, co-sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, at Pepacton Reservoir in Delaware County.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) celebrated the 31st annual Water Resources Art and Poetry Contest at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City, Queens, honoring the contributions of more then 1,800 students from New York City and watershed communities. Representatives from DEP participated in the Great Water Cities Summit 2017 conference hosted by the Water Environment Federation and the New York Water Environment Association. Four veteran DEP K-9 police officers have been promoted in a ceremony held at the Staff Sgt. Robert H. Dietz DEP Police Academy.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released its Fiscal Year 2018 Executive Budget. Priorities outlined for the next several years include the completion of shafts for City Tunnel 3, reconstruction of the Catskill Aqueduct from Kensico to Hillview Reservoirs, the completion of the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel repair, and investment into wastewater treatment and sewer projects. A $13.4 million project to upgrade the release works at the New Croton Dam is entering its testing phase. A delegation of environment, forest and climate change experts from India toured the Catskill and Delaware watersheds and met with officials from the DEP as well as the Catskill Watershed Corporation, Watershed Agricultural Council, and the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program.
More than 460 children of employees of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) participated in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Charmaine Berry of the Bureau of Customer Services has been promoted to Chief Inspector of the Bronx Borough Office, the first woman to hold that role in the bureau. The DEP celebrates 30 years of operation of its Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP), which has overseen multiple improvements to wastewater management including a reduction in toxic metal discharges into city sewers of more than 99 percent. Five DEP projects have been honored at the annual gala of the ACEC New York Engineering Excellence Awards.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is holding its 30th annual Operations Challenge at the Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plant, an event in which plant operators compete to showcase their skills and expertise. Engineer Burjor J. Kharivala, P.E., of the the Bureau of Engineering, Design and Construction, is retiring after nearly fifty years of work on the design of City Tunnel 3. The New York City Health Department has released the latest New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS) results, finding improvements in air quality between 2008 and 2015.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has given away its first rain barrels of 2017 to homeowners throughout the city, who can save up to 40 percent of their water use during summer months by using them for lawn and garden tasks. Last year, a total of 11,111 of the barrels were distributed. Since 2013, the DEP has avoided approximately 200 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through the Demand Response Program. The DEP's only Steam Stationary Engineer, Robert Mastrolembo, is featured in Focus on the Field, which describes his role in maintaining the steam heating system at Wards Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. DEP staff recently participated in the Lower Hudson Valley Professiona Engineering Society's Engineering Expo 2017.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working on a $31 million project to restore and upgrade a historic building on Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn that now serves as a water tunnel and shaft maintenance headquarters. Originally, the building was constructed as a 250-horse stable for the Department of Sanitation. The Catskill Watershed Corporation, which partners with the DEP to maintain water quality and improve watershed communities, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Around 200 homeowners from communities in southeast Queens received free rain barrels from the DEP and local representatives. The DEP and other city agencies celebrate National Work Zone Awareness Week.