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Q&A
Nature-based solutions for water management around the BQE and arterial highways
1:41:39
·
3 min
Council Member Avilés inquires about potential nature-based solutions for water management around the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) and other arterial highways. Deputy Commissioner Angela Licata discusses past considerations and ongoing studies in this area.
- DEP previously explored opportunities for green infrastructure beneath elevated portions of the BQE
- Initial attempts were challenging due to the dark, damp environment unsuitable for many ecological choices
- Licata suggests it might be time to revisit these ideas, possibly considering more vertical solutions
- An ongoing study is evaluating water management opportunities along all arterial highways in the city, including state and city-owned roads
- The study, cost-shared between DOT and DEP, is in its final year of a five-year process
- The study has revealed new information about ownership of arterial highways and water routing
- As part of the study, extensive cleaning and maintenance work is being carried out along these highways
Alexa Avilés
1:41:39
Yeah, follow-up.
1:41:41
Last question, and thank you for the generosity of time.
1:41:44
Similarly, the BQE structure, right?
1:41:47
Everybody knows the BQE and its glory.
1:41:52
I was curious about, have there been any studies around how we manage water?
1:42:01
Because now, like I'm thinking Third Avenue, if you're familiar with Brooklyn, right, we have the beakery running.
1:42:09
It's constantly flooded.
1:42:10
Right?
1:42:11
It's managing the water that's coming from the the structure, the superstructure above, including the water that's below because the neighborhood runs downward.
1:42:21
Right?
1:42:23
Are the has DP looked at any kind of nature based potential solution around how to manage that kind of water flow?
1:42:32
And I guess what I'm thinking of is like where is that?
1:42:36
In in Spain, they have Via Verde where where they were using these green they're I don't know what they're called, a structure that holds a highway doing kind of plant based in those structures both for air quality but also for some water.
1:42:53
So I was just curious, like, has DEP struggled at all with are there any interventions around this infrastructure that could help either with water or air or noise?
1:43:04
I mean those are the three challenges among others that come from the structure itself.
Angela Licata
1:43:10
Yeah, I'd really like to take a look at that.
1:43:12
Where is that in Spain?
1:43:13
I'm just sure we can Google and take some
Alexa Avilés
1:43:16
I have to get back.
Angela Licata
1:43:17
If it's vertical or horizontal.
1:43:19
And to answer your question pointedly with respect to the BQE, we did look very early on.
1:43:26
We had a lot of environmental stakeholders that rightly pointed out that this looks like a missed opportunity because we have all this space here and there's all this water running off of the elevated highway.
1:43:37
What can we do in that area below the elevated portions of the roadway?
1:43:43
It was very difficult to identify ecological choices that would survive in that very dank, very light deprived environment.
1:43:55
So we shied away from that.
1:43:59
Maybe it's time to go and revisit that because I was getting a vision of something maybe more vertical that might make sense in a location like that.
1:44:07
Through the MS-four permit, we have and we are continuing to evaluate all what we call arterial highways.
1:44:17
Forgive me for the jargon, but that is the roadways in the city where we have these major arterials.
1:44:25
They may be state owned.
1:44:26
They may be city owned.
1:44:27
And where is that water running?
1:44:29
And what are the opportunities that we might have to address that water, either in terms of volume or in terms of water quality.
1:44:37
So that that is a study that is still in progress, and it is being cost shared between DOT and DEP.
Alexa Avilés
1:44:44
And and when is the time frame for for the study?
Angela Licata
1:44:48
It's the the last year of it's not three years is probably more like a five year study.
1:44:55
But we we have been discovering new information about ownership on arterial highways as well as where the water is going.
1:45:04
The benefit of that project, the biggest benefit of that project is not just the intelligence around the water routing, but is also because to do the TV inspection to understand the direction of the water, we've had to do a lot of cleaning.
1:45:23
So we're getting a lot of benefit from the contractor to do a lot of maintenance and and cleaning along the way.
Alexa Avilés
1:45:31
Got it.
1:45:31
Thank you so much.
1:45:32
Thank you, chair.