April 20, 2026

New Underground System Will Capture More Than 800,000 Gallons of Rainwater a Year, Helping Prevent Local Flooding

Completion Marks Another Successful Project Under DEP’s Resilient NYC Partners Program

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa F. Garcia today announced the completion of a $600,000 stormwater management project at the St. Charles School in the Oakwood section of Staten Island. Built in partnership with the Parish of Saint Charles Borromeo and the Archdiocese of New York, the project will help alleviate flooding on school grounds and in the surrounding community, while also protecting the Lower Bay.

“I’m grateful to the Church of Saint Charles Borromeo and St. Charles School for partnering with us to help reduce flooding in the Oakwood community,” said DEP Commissioner Lisa F. Garcia. “Climate change is already reshaping life in New York City, bringing heavier storms and more intense rainfall. As we rise to meet the challenge, we know that public infrastructure can’t do it alone, and incentives like DEP’s Resilient NYC Partners grant program help private properties do their part to capture stormwater where it falls.”

Beneath the St. Charles School’s parking lot, underground stormwater chambers capture rainwater diverted from the school’s rooftops and paved areas and then slowly release it into the ground. The chambers can hold over 50,000 gallons at a time—roughly 818,000 gallons of rainwater every year. By keeping rainwater out of local storm sewers, the project frees up capacity in the sewer system to alleviate flooding for nearby residents and businesses, and supports cleaner, healthier waterways for the surrounding community.

“Saint Charles Borromeo Parish is grateful to the City’s Department of Environmental Protection for this partnership,” said Fr. Patrick Buckley, pastor of the parish of Saint Charles. “These flood mitigation measures will help protect our facilities and the surrounding Oakwood neighborhood from storm damage, allowing us to direct more resources toward our mission of serving the parish, school, and broader community.”

“These new stormwater chambers will not only provide much-needed relief from frequent flooding at the St. Charles School and in the surrounding area, it is a model of public-private partnership that really works,” said City Council Minority Leader David M. Carr. “Kudos to the DEP and the Archdiocese for working together to get this important project done for the school community and the residents of Oakwood.”

This project was funded through DEP’s Resilient NYC Partners, which helps large property owners install green infrastructure, like permeable pavers, subsurface storage systems or rain gardens, to manage stormwater. So far, the program has completed more than 15 projects and provided $19 million in funding.

Since 2025, DEP has advanced green infrastructure retrofits in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens under DEP’s Resilient NYC Partners program. DEP works closely with property owners to determine the cause of flooding and designed solutions tailored to each site’s unique conditions and needs. In total, these projects will manage over 21 million gallons of stormwater annually:

• Morris Park, Bronx: DEP invested $5 million NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi to build three subsurface storage systems and a rain garden that together manage 5.3 million gallons of stormwater each year.
• Navy Yard, Brooklyn: DEP provided more than $1.9 million for a new subsurface storage system beneath the Brooklyn Navy Yard near Building 120, designed to capture 1.8 million gallons of stormwater annually.
• Jamaica, Queens: DEP contributed $3.3 million for a large subsurface retention system at a school bus lot privately-owned by C.A.C. Industries, managing 4.5 million gallons of stormwater a year.
• East Elmhurst, Queens: DEP is investing $7.4 million in a multi‑phase project at a corporate center to install subsurface storage and roof capture systems. Phases one ($1.5 million) and two ($2.7 million) are complete, and phase three ($3.2 million) is currently in design. When finished, the full project will manage 10.1 million gallons of stormwater annually.

DEP’s nation-leading green infrastructure program has constructed over 16,000 green infrastructure installations, including subsurface detention systems, rain gardens, infiltration basins, green roofs, permeable pavement and green medians. All of these green infrastructure tools intercept stormwater before it drains into the sewer system, thereby creating additional capacity in the sewers, reducing street flooding and protecting local waterways.

About NYC Department of Environmental Protection

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP also protects the health and safety of New Yorkers by enforcing the Air and Noise Codes and asbestos rules. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on X.