Stormwater Runoff
Newark has a LOT of stormwater runoff.
Stormwater runoff is rainwater or ice melt that “runs off” of surfaces into local ponds, rivers or streams. In a park, forest or on farmland, rainwater and snow fall rather uniformly and then most of it is absorbed by plants or soaks into the ground. Only a portion of that water runs off into local waterbodies. Even when it does run off, it usually happens relatively slowly.
In a city like Newark, most of our surfaces are rooftops or paved sidewalks or roadways. This prevents water from soaking into the ground. Additionally, we have created channels along rooftops, called downspouts, and angled our roadways to direct stormwater runoff as quickly as possible off of city streets and down into our underground network of pipes. All of this water is collected very quickly and easily results in a “flashflood” of water in the sewers.
In some parts of our city, stormwater (and ice melt) mixes with wastewater from homes and businesses in a combined sewer system (CSS). In dry weather, the wastewater flows directly to the local water treatment facility, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) where it is treated and then released into Newark Bay.
On wet days, even with very little actual rain, our combined sewer system can be easily overwhelmed with too much street-level stormwater mixing with wastewater from homes and businesses. This creates a combined sewer overflow (CSO). When this happens, the sewage-mixed runoff bypasses the water treatment facility and enters our rivers untreated.
The City of Newark Department of Water & Sewer Utilities has developed a Long Term Control Plan to reduce or eliminate the instances of combined sewer overflow.
Nationally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 10 trillion gallons of untreated stormwater runoff pollutes our rivers and streams (and often backs up into streets and basements) every year. In Newark, this untreated stormwater enters the Elizabeth and Passaic rivers.
MS4 Areas of Newark are marked in blue
Green Infrastructure
One of the ways the city is planning to manage stormwater throughout the city is using green
stormwater infrastructure (GSI or GI). With these engineered solutions that make use of or mimic the natural water cycle, Newark can slow down the rush of water before it ever enters our system. This will give the other measures we’re installing a chance to be more effective.
Newark is excited about these installations because, beyond helping to manage the city’s stormwater runoff, green infrastructure also provides a number of additional benefits to our residents and businesses.