The Facts
Opened: 1987 - 60 MGD
Upgrades/Additions: None
Design Capacity: 60 MGD.
Drainage Area: 3,054 acres, northwest section of Brooklyn and Governor’s Island.
Receiving Waterbody: Lower East River.
Population Served: 192,050 (est.)
Pumping Stations: 3 Combined, 2 storm.
Dewatering: on-site central dewatering facility.
The Plant
The Red Hook plant is located in Brooklyn, it serves an area of 3,054 acres.
When the Red Hook project was originally conceived, back in the early 1950's, a relatively small site of 5.6 acres near the Manhattan Bridge was designated as the site for the plant. The plant was to be designed for removal of pollutants by the modified aeration process. However, when effluent limitations become more stringent, it became apparent that there was not enough land at that location for a full secondary treatment facility. When the City purchased the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1970, it set aside 19 acres for the Red Hook Treatment Plant. The plant was designed in 1972 to be a 70 MGD facility, however escalating energy and construction costs made it necessary to re-examine the 1972 design. The design of a 60 MGD plant began in August 1980, and construction began in November 1983. In 1989, the plant began providing full secondary treatment.