May 15, 2003

Contact: Ian Michaels (718) 595-6600

DEP Features Staten Island Bluebelt System On The Web

New Interactive Exhibit Highlights City’s Innovative Stormwater Management Plan For South Richmond

Commissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced today that the agency is featuring the Staten Island Bluebelt system in a new, interactive exhibit on its Web site. The exhibit can be accessed at DEP’s home page at www.nyc.gov/dep.

“The Bluebelt is an award-winning program that is enhancing the natural resources of Staten Island while providing Island residents with cost-effective stormwater management,” said Commissioner Ward. “Concerned citizens can now go online to learn about how the program works, read about progress being made and look at maps and drainage plans for their neighborhoods.”

The Bluebelt project uses streams, ponds and other wetland areas—instead of expensive and intrusive storm sewers—to perform the natural functions of conveying, storing and filtering stormwater. Under the Bluebelt program, DEP has developed drainage plans for 16 watersheds in South Richmond.

The new Web exhibit features a description of the Bluebelt program; links to Bluebelt newsletters that the DEP has been publishing since 1996; maps of the various Bluebelt watersheds; and photos of progress that has already been made in creating the Bluebelt system.

The new exhibit also features a full-color diagram detailing the various man-made and natural features that make up a bluebelt system, how those various features are related and interact with each other, and how they are integrated into the existing storm sewer system that exists in some parts of South Richmond.