Image Credit: DEP

The upgrades will help replace pumps that were originally installed in the 1980s. On July 6, 2021, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection announced that work was in progress for upgrades at the Coney Island Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility. The work will include reliability and energy efficiency upgrades for a facility that serves a 15,087 acre drainage area in southern and central Brooklyn. The facility, which currently uses over 30 year-old pumps, handles 110 million gallons a day during dry weather and up to 220 million gallons per day during wet weather.

The facility’s Main Sewage Pumps system will be replaced. The six main sewage pumps, force main, valves in the dry well and discharge piping will all be upgraded. New motors, controllers and other electrical equipment will be installed for the pump system. The new electrical equipment will be housed in a new electrical room. New air conditioning equipment, duct, exhaust fans and other material will update the HVAC system. The upgrades will improve the facility’s energy efficiency by 20 percent. 

The project began earlier this year and is expected to be completed by 2025. The facility is still open and functioning as upgrades are being made. A submersive pump system will be installed to help the facility function as the work continues. The project will cost $110 million.

DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza stated, “The Coney Island Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility cleans more than 110 million gallons of wastewater from nearly 600,000 Brooklyn residents every day of the year and protects the waterways and beaches in the area. This work is essential to reducing our carbon footprint, improving air quality, lowering operating costs and ensuring the treatment facility remains in a state of good repair for decades to come.”

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)