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Stormwater Management

Apr 09
Love1

Green Infrastructure Initiatives

By Stormwater Management

JCMUA FUNDS SUSTAINABLE JC GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

Local community organization Sustainable Jersey City (SJC), a collaborative network of green civic minded orgs and individuals, has teamed up with the NJ Tree Foundation to install a rain garden at NJCU Campus as an intervention strategy for building flooding. The project is being funded by the JC Municipal Utilities Authority in support of community led initiatives of green infrastructure design install projects. The rain garden was installed last September 2017.

After an extensive assessment of ongoing flooding issues at the Fine Arts Building, the Earth & Environmental Science Department Faculty and Students created a set of benchmarked data that included soil composition and the directional analysis of both underground tidal activity from the Hackensack River, that seems to seep into the property, and above ground stormwater activity as it flows over the landscape during rain events. The purpose of this analysis was to verify if the rain garden intervention strategy would make an impact. As it turns out, the intervention strategy was successful!

”“We were very pleased to have teamed up again with the NJ Tree Foundation, who is our partner for the rain garden installations we seek out. They are a highly competent crew who helped us assess the best design for the landscape and they work really hard to excavate the site and install a beautiful and functional rain garden with native plants, that are both drought and water tolerant,” says SJC Founder Debra Italiano.

”She adds, “The main goals of this initiative were to remedy a flooding challenge for the Fine Arts Building and to demonstrate the efficacy of rain gardens as a green infrastructure option to help to manage stormwater issues. We involved students at each stage of the process and they are now part of the monitoring protocol set up to collect data on the positive impact this rain garden has had on campus.”

Sustainable JC is working with NJCU to concentrate a cluster group of green infrastructure projects on campus, including initiating a collaboration with Bartlett Tree Experts who are performing a tree inventory for the campus. Sustainable JC will take that tree inventory data and upload it into the JC OpenTreeMap tool to calculate the monetized eco system benefits provided by the trees, including energy saved, stormwater filtered, air quality improved, carbon dioxide removed and carbon dioxide stored to date. That project is set for completion in the Spring of 2018.

Jan 31
Love1

Rain Collection Barrels

By Stormwater Management
Section No. 1

What is a Rain Barrel?

A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores rain water that drains from your roof and gutters. The Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority in partnership with the Jersey City Environmental Commission is offering rain barrels free of charge for Jersey City residents. Residents must agree to make a good faith effort to keep the rain barrels for at least 3 years from the date of purchase and must agree to not use collected water for potable use. It is the responsibility of the tenant to get the permission of the property owner to install a rain barrel. Residents agree to provide annual maintenance of the rain barrel and all components.

Section No. 2

What are the requirements for a rain barrel?

Rain barrels must be installed with a spigot and hose, overflow tube (directs overflow away from foundation), vector control (mosquito-proof screen under the lid), and a lid to seal the tank. If a mosquito-proof screen is not included in the rain barrel kit, it is your responsibility to install a screen with a minimum 18 x 14 mesh.

 

Section No. 2

Where can I acquire a rain barrel?

Residents can pick up the rain barrels at the JCMUA located at 555 Route 440, Jersey City, NJ 07305, Monday – Thursday between 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Please fill out the form below and call 201-432-1150 to set an appointment.

YOU MUST BRING PROOF OF RESIDENCY SUCH AS  DRIVERS LICENSE, PSE&G BILL OR CABLE BILL.

Rain Barrel Request Form

What are long-term solutions to mitigate waterway pollution?

  • Join community meetings!

  • Under the terms of the Clean Water Act, combined sewer systems are regulated by the EPA and municipalities are responsible for devising strategies to reduce or eliminate combined sewer overflows and mitigate the resulting pollution of waterways. The Jersey City MUA is hosting 4 Community Informational Meetings to address the effects the CSOs are causing, present alternatives, and receive feedback from the residents of Jersey City.
  • For more detailed information on combined sewers and the long-term control plan, please visit https://www.njcleanwaterways.com/. This website also serves as an essential reference that routes to the njcso group cso notification system website.
May 12
Love1

Storm Water Control Plan

By Stormwater Management
Section No. 1

How to create a long-term control plan

Jersey City operates on a combined sewer system (CSS).
A CSS is designed to collect stormwater run-off, which enters the sewer system through a catch basin usually located on a street corner and wastewater in the same sewer line. During dry weather, the system carries the wastewater to the treatment plant. During heavy rainfalls, however, the sewer line becomes inundated with the combined volume of water sometimes causing an overflow into our waterways.

This is called a combined sewer overflow or CSO.

Section No. 2

Where are Combined Sewer Overflows in Jersey City?

Jersey City has 21 CSO discharge points. As seen below

What are long-term solutions to mitigate waterway pollution?

  • Join community meetings!

  • Under the terms of the Clean Water Act, combined sewer systems are regulated by the EPA and municipalities are responsible for devising strategies to reduce or eliminate combined sewer overflows and mitigate the resulting pollution of waterways. The Jersey City MUA is hosting 4 Community Informational Meetings to address the effects the CSOs are causing, present alternatives, and receive feedback from the residents of Jersey City.
  • For more detailed information on combined sewers and the long-term control plan, please visit https://www.njcleanwaterways.com/. This website also serves as an essential reference that routes to the njcso group cso notification system website.
May 12
Love1

Understanding Storm Water

By Stormwater Management
Section No. 1

How Storm Water Happens

Storm water run off is comprised of water and any other object that is on the street that enters the storm drain. This includes leaves, plastic bottles and bags and other garbage that has been left on the street.

Section No. 2

Where Storm Water is happening?

In developing cities such as Jersey City, the amount of impervious land is limited. This means that when it rains, the amount of storm water that can be infiltrated into the ground is about 5 to 10 percent which leads to a larger amount of storm water run off entering the sewer system. Run off is a major source of flooding and water pollution.

Why Storm Water is a Problem?

Jersey City operates on a combined sewer system (CSS).
A CSS is designed to collect storm water run-off, which enters the sewer system through a catch basin usually located on a street corner and waste water in the same sewer line. During dry weather, the system carries the wastewater to the treatment plant. During heavy rainfalls however, the sewer line becomes inundated with the combined volume of water sometimes causing an overflow into our waterways.

This is called a combined sewer overflow or CSO.

  • Jersey City has 21 overflow outfall locations, each equipped with netting facilities.