Mamdani and Hochul announce $35M project to fight flooding and save drinking water in Manhattan – NBC New York

Mamdani and Hochul announce $35M project to fight flooding and save drinking water in Manhattan  NBC New York

The project is expected to prevent approximately 132 million gallons of water from entering local sewers each year. The project will allow the city to lower the water levels in Central Park’s bodies of water to prevent them from overflowing into the sewer system when storms come. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports. On Monday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced the groundbreaking of a multimillion-dollar project that aims to reduce flooding in Harlem and East Harlem while conserving the city's drinking water supply. The $35.7 million investment project looks to improve stormwater management in the northern part of Central Park, easing the pressure on the sewer system in the park and its surrounding neighborhoods during heavy rainfall.

“Climate change is bringing more frequent and severe rainfall to our city. So far this year, we’ve spent one in three days under a flash flood activation,” Mamdani said. “We are investing in infrastructure that protects New Yorkers during extreme weather while conserving the resources we all depend on. In Central Park, that means turning three beloved water bodies into part of a massive recirculation system that can conserve our drinking water on dry days and protect our neighborhoods from flooding when storms hit. This $35.7 million investment will make our city more resilient, help stretch our