S.W.I.M. Coalition

Merriam-Webster’s describes recreation as, “refreshment of strength and spirits after work ; also : a means of refreshment or diversion.”  Wikipedia equates it with “fun”.

When it comes to water quality standards, recreation can imply a few different things.  Depending on what kind of recreation you are up to on the water, the City and State are required to maintain water quality to suit that use.  So, if you are using a waterway for swimming, the water quality standard will be much higher than for a waterway that is being used for, say, primarily boating or even industry.

Of New York City’s 600 miles of waterfront, only about 14 miles are officially designated as beaches, and the highest water quality standards are reserved for those areas of “primary contact”.  What of the rest?

Does the city share your goals for using the waterway closest to you?  PlaNYC’s main objective for water quality is to “open 90% of our waterways to recreation by preserving natural areas and reducing pollution”.   This goal is only ambitious if by “recreation” they mean “swimming”. Which, at some point, the Mayor did.

Or do they mean forms of recreation that require little or no contact, such as enjoying the vista from an esplanade? Without the specifics on what use we expect from our waterways, how do we know what our goals are in terms of pollution reduction or preservation of natural areas?

Tell us, Mr. Mayor, how do YOU define recreation?

The City’s Sustainable Stormwater Plan states that the city will “complete water and wastewater rate study and reassess pricing for stormwater services”. In the meantime, the Water Board has submitted a proposal to extend frontage billing, a practice that charges a fixed amount for water, regardless of actual usage. Please read the public notice and let us know your thoughts by submitting a comment to this post.

The National Research Council, Water Sciences and Technology Board has
just released the report Urban Stormwater Management in the United
States (Committee on Reducing Stormwater Discharge Contributions to
Water Pollution, National Research Council, National Academies Press).
The report is the product of a 2-year process undertaken by a 15-member
committee of national experts. The study was commissioned by EPA in 2006
to evaluate the NPDES stormwater program program and make
recommendations for improvement of the program.

The 513 page report provides a description of the history of stormwater
management in the United States; an overview of stormwater regulations
and the federal regulatory program; and information on a number of
relevant scientific and technological issues such as hydrology,
geomorphology, biology, monitoring and modeling. The report also
provides a number of significant findings and recommendations on how
stormwater management in the United States should be improved to achieve
better environmental outcomes.

The study report is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/nrc_stormwaterreport.pdf

The NRC press release is at:
http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12465

Representatives of the MillionTreesNYC Subcommittee on Research and Evaluation, we’d like to invite you to a meeting on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at the City University of New York Graduate Center, on the Concourse level in rooms C201/C202.

The purpose of this gathering will be to explore opportunities for research and evaluation and more specifically to:
•    Learn about and continue to develop research and assessment priorities for MillionTreesNYC
•    Join a growing collaborative network of researchers and practitioners
•    Establish student research opportunities and discuss fellowship support
•    Share data and leverage on-going community and municipal plantings, sustainable designs and stewardship
•    Discuss funding opportunities
•    Begin planning a MillionTreesNYC research symposium

We hope that you will be able to join us on Wednesday, October 15th.
Kindly r.s.v.p. to Jacqueline.Lu@parks.nyc.gov by October 10th.