Battery Park is a model for a more sustainable future! #bcsfh20 pic.twitter.com/b54Yfn632g
— Ji Soo Choi (@JiSooChoiMHC) November 22, 2017
My trip to Battery Park City was a wonderful experience, and gave me more hope that a sustainable future is possible. Although I have lived in the city since I was 5 years old, I never truly had a chance to take in the beauty of Battery Park City. In addition, I had no idea that the area was known for using water in a way that models sustainability. I met up with Maryia and we embarked on a journey of discovering water it meant to use water wisely.
My first stop was the 9/11 Memorial. Going at night and looking at the street lights bringing the infrastructure to life made it look all the more beautiful. Not only was I touched at what the memorial stood for, but I was impressed with how the water used in the fountains is not wasted. I read that 16 pumps circulate 480,000 thousand gallons of recycled water. The Memorial pools are the largest man-made waterfalls in the country, pumping 52,000 gallons of recycled water per minute. The way the fountains use water conservatively made me believe that it would be possible to use recycled water in our everyday water systems as well.
Next, we visited the Jeff Koons Balloon flower. Not only did this fountain have an appealing, artistic look, but is a homage to 9/11 survivors. Fountains and other structures like these can collect runoff and use grey water and rainwater to create art. Art in general can definitely help educate people on the fate of city stormwater, as it grabs people’s attention and allows them to see there are solutions to the problems.
Last, we visited the Solaire Building and Tear Drop Park. It was so interesting to see the building in-person after watching the detailed video on it during class. All the water used in the building is irrigated with reclaimed black and gray water. This is true even for the public bathrooms in the park. The building reduced water consumption by 50% compared to other building similar to it. The membrane bioreactor-based wastewater treatment and recycling system installed in the building’s basement is what makes all of this possible. Having a building and park that is sustainable on its own made me realize that every building can and should implement changes that reduce water consumption.
These structures in our own city can be a model for how sewer systems operate. Residents have been shown that it is possible to use water conservatively and make a sustainable world. This knowledge can also be implemented into our sewer sheds and fix the problem with flooding and CSOs too. My sewer shed, Coney Island, is one of the dirty dozens and is in great need of change. Having systems that filter our water and collect runoff will greatly reduce the negative impacts of CSOs. We can only hope that the increase in green infrastructure will occur sooner than later. Overall, this trip to Battery Park City was a wonderful learning experience that I am thankful I got to have.
