Changing Source Water to Urbanized Er-lis Embayments and Implications for Water Quality Improvement Using Constructed Wetlands

The urbanization of the New York City area has caused serious degradation of water quality in the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary, including the East River (ER) and western portion of Long Island Sound (LIS). Although overall water quality has improved in the Harbor Estuary since the 1970s with better wastewater treatment, embayments such as Little Neck Bay and especially Flushing Bay have among the worst water quality because of the numerous combined sewer outfalls (CSOs) that discharge into them. Recent improvements in stormwater retention infrastructure by the NYCDEP are expected to reduce the loadings of pathogenic bacteria such as fecal coliforms and enterococci. However, the changing surface water-groundwater inputs to these embayments and the restrictions in marine influence are converting the remaining wetlands in these watersheds from brackish to freshwater-dominated systems. Natural and constructed wetlands are now in worldwide use as wastewater and stormwater treatment systems for urban areas in what is termed an “ecohydrologic” approach to estuarine water resources management. With the increasing emphasis on wetland preservation, restoration and construction as stormwater best management practices (BMPs) like the Bluebelt on Staten Island, new opportunities exist for harnessing the treatment capacities of these systems for coastal water quality improvement.