New York City's forests, wetlands, and grasslands absorb 17 percent of the city's stormwater, reducing sewer overflows into waterways. Natural landscapes make up one-third of the city's more than 30,000 acres of parkland and capture twice as much stormwater per unit as engineered green infrastructure such as rain gardens. High-resolution spatial modeling quantifies stormwater capture capacity and shows healthy forests absorb almost 10 percent more stormwater than degraded forests. These ecosystems save the city an estimated $760 million annually in stormwater treatment costs. Sewer systems handle roughly 1.75 inches of rain per hour, a capacity strained by increasingly intense rainfall due to climate change.
When it rains, New York City's natural areas-made up of forests, wetlands, and grasslands-play a crucial role in keeping sewers from overflowing by soaking up 17 percent of the city's stormwater, a new report by the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) finds. The report reveals that this natural landscape, which makes up a third of the Big Apple's more than 30,000 acres of parkland, soaks up twice the amount of storm water on a per unit basis when compared to other forms of green infrastructure like rain gardens.
These ecosystems save the city an estimated $760 million annually in stormwater treatment costs, the report notes, urging the city to look more to its trees to provide relief to the overburdened stormwater management system. The city currently relies mostly on sewers, drainage pipes, and catch basins to manage its stormwater. This is problematic because these systems have limited capacity, in terms of how much water they can handle-about 1.75 inches of rain in one hour, according to the report.
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