"In separate sewer areas, this pollution is carried by stormwater and discharged directly into local waterways. This can have a negative impact on water quality and recreational uses."

"As stormwater flows over streets and other impervious surfaces, it sweeps up pollutants such as oils, chemicals, pathogens, and sediments."

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System:
"(including but not limited to streets, ditches, catch basins, curbs, gutters, and storm drains) that is designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater and that discharges to surface waters of the State."

"As a result, wildlife disappeared, waterborne diseases spread, and communities of people moved away from the water’s edge.
New York City officials responded with investments in the
first wastewater resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) at
Coney Island (1886), 26th Ward (1894), and Jamaica (1903)."

"Over a century and a half of industrial pollution and sewage
degraded the once- flourishing environment. These water
quality and ecosystem degradations were exacerbated by
the physical alterations to many waterways surrounding
NYC and the legacy industrial pollution."

"This growth eventually adversely impacted the
environment and quality of life. As New York’s population
grew, open trenches and early sewers conveyed increasing
quantities of waste directly to the nearest waterbody."

"Hundreds of years ago, freshwater
wetlands, salt marshes, streams, and rivers supported
communities, commerce, and wildlife. By the industrial
age, the rivers became a means for supporting the
manufacturing and maritime industries."
www.nyc.gov/assets/dep/d...

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