Helping Urban Centers Address Combined Sewer Overflow
Issues with Community-Based Green Infrastructure
in New Jersey
By Christopher C. Obropta and Jeremiah D. Bergstrom
ABSTRACT
Many large cities throughout the United States have been required by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement green infrastructure
practices to address combined sewer overflow (CSO) regulatory issues. These cities have initiated well-funded programs that are led by large organizations such as
the Philadelphia Water Department and the New York City Planning Department,
taking a top down approach to implementing green infrastructure. New Jersey
has taken a different approach by focusing on community-based green infrastructure, which is often lead by a coalition of local partners with assistance from Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Water Resources Program and the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The RCE Water Resources
Program has provided the leadership and technical assistance in developing community-based green infrastructure efforts throughout New Jersey.
BACKGROUND
New Jersey has a total of 217 permitted combined sewer overflows (CSOs). As
the combined sewer system ages and more impervious surfaces are installed in the
city, the ability of the combined sewer system to convey wastewater and stormwater to the wastewater treatment plant is reduced. This, coupled with more intense
storms due to a changing climate, results in more frequent occurrences of CSOs
of a slurry of stormwater and raw sewerage into the streets, basements, and local
waterways in the communities. To address this problem, green infrastructure can
be used to capture, treat, and infiltrate stormwater runoff. At times, the captured
water can be reused or released slowly back into the sewer system. Since green
infrastructure practices are typically smaller systems that capture stormwater at its
sources, the community needs to be engaged to help site the systems to incorporate them throughout each neighborhood.
217 CSO PERMITTED OUTFALLS
Municipality
Permit Holder Entity
Bayonne
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Camden City
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
CCMUA
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
County
Hudson
Camden
# CSOs
30
28
Camden
1
East Newark
Elizabeth
Fort Lee
Gloucester
Guttenberg
Hackensack
Harrison
Jersey City
Kearny
Newark
North Bergen
North Bergen
Paterson
Perth Amboy
Ridgefield Park
Trenton
Union City
West New York
Hudson
Union
Bergen
Camden
Hudson
Bergen
Hudson
Hudson
Hudson
Essex
Hudson
Hudson
Passaic
Middlesex
Bergen
Mercer
Hudson
Hudson
1
28
2
7
1
2
7
21
5
17
1
9
24
16
6
1
8
2
(Camden County)
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Joint Meeting of Essex & Union
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority-Woodcliff
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority-Woodcliff
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
Middlesex County Utilities Authority
Bergen County Utilities Authority
Trenton
North Hudson Sewerage Authority-Adams
North Hudson Sewerage Authority-West NY
METHODOLOGY
The RCE Water Resources Program started working with the Camden County
Municipal Utilities Authority (CCMUA) to bring green infrastructure to Camden
City. Out of this effort came the Camden SMART (Stormwater Management and
Resource Training) Initiative, which is a partnership of local community groups
and county and state organizations, along with the RCE Water Resources Program, to work together to help Camden implement green infrastructure strategies
to address the CSO problems in the city. In the City of Newark, a similar group
has been formed to address CSO problems using green infrastructure called, Newark DIG (Doing Infrastructure Green). The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission
(PVSC) serves 48 municipalities in North Jersey, nine of them are CSO communities. PVSC has been working closely with the RCE Water Resources Program
to educate its municipalities on the value of green infrastructure, conduct planning
for these communities, and implement green infrastructure projects.
RESULTS
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Service Areas
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Service Area
Sewage District Area
Green Infrastructure Feasibility Study
Franklin
Lakes Boro
Ridgewood
Village
North
Glen Rock
Haledon Boro
Boro
Hawthorne
Prospect
Boro
Park Boro
Fair Lawn
Haledon
Boro
Boro
Paterson
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2013-2015
Elmwood
Park Boro
Totowa
Boro
13 green infrastructure feasibility studies
6 green infrastructure projects installed by PVSC
14 green infrastructure municipal-led projects by 2017
Woodland
Park Boro
Hackensack
Garfield
Little
Falls Twp
North
Caldwell Boro
Saddle
Brook Twp
Clifton
Wallington
Boro
City of
Orange Twp
Rutherford
Boro
Nutley
Twp
Bloomfield
Twp
Belleville
Twp
Glen Ridge
Boro
West
Orange Twp
South
Hackensack Twp
Passaic
Cedar
Grove Twp
Montclair
Twp
Lodi
Boro
Lyndhurst
Twp
Hasbrouck
Heights Boro
Wood-Ridge
Boro
East Rutherford
Boro
North
Bergen Twp
North
Arlington Boro
Union
City
East
Orange
South Orange
Village Twp
East Newark
Boro
Kearny
Harrison
Newark
Jersey
City
Hillside
Twp
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2011-2013
27 green infrastructure projects
992 trees planted
120 rain barrels distributed
3.8 estimated million gallons
of stormwater managed
annually
²
CONCLUSION
0
0.5
1
2
Elizabeth
3
4
Bayonne
Miles
The RCE Water Resources Program is working with federal, state, regional, county, municipal, and local stakeholders to implement green infrastructure strategies throughout
the state. The RCE Water Resources Program is currently working to establish community-based green infrastructure action teams, similar to Camden SMART and Newark
DIG, in Jersey City, Paterson, and Perth Amboy.
Funding for the program has been sponsored by NJDEP 319(h) grants, SURDNA Foundation, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, and Passaic Valley Sewerage
Commission.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2013-2014
9 green infrastructure projects
400 trees planted
75 rain barrels distributed
1.2 estimated million gallons
of stormwater managed
annually
RCE Water Resources Program staff and various community groups work
together to install green infrastructure in urban communities throughout
New Jersey.