Sprawl, defined as “low-density, land consumptive, centerless, autooriented development, typically located on the outer suburban fringes,” negatively impacts New York City’s water quality and NYC’s drinking water supply watersheds (1). Sprawl’s greatest threat to water quality is the “resulting increase in impervious surfaces,” defined as “surfaces that prevent infiltration of water into soil” (2, 4). As the population of NYC increases and New York continues to develop economically, alternatives must be considered to impervious surfaces in order to protect the state’s water supply, ecosystem services, and biodiversity.
In addition to creating excess pollution, impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and rooftops increase “the volume and magnitude of stormwater and facilitate the delivery of pollutants into receiving waters” (4). This process potentially contaminates receiving waters and can cause significant health issues and illnesses for people consuming this water. For example, “when stormwater scours pollutants off of pavement into surface waters, it can contribute Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts, which lead to gastrointestinal illnesses and other health problems, from human and animal fecal waste” (4). Impervious surfaces can cause runoff from “suburban residential development,” causing significant water degradation and water toxicity (4). Also important to note is that stormwater runoff created from impervious surfaces can harm stream biodiversity and can “be directly toxic to organisms or can cause conditions in the receiving waters that are detrimental to aquatic organisms and even humans” (6).
It is critical to municipal and state governments to develop and readily use alternatives to impervious surfaces, such as pervious pavement and gravel pavement. Costs for alternatives may be “higher than traditional pavement, but it can eliminate the need for stormwater drainage and collection systems,” the latter of which refers to impervious surfaces (7). Various innovative legal mechanisms supported by public opinion can incentivize the use of alternative surfaces for private companies and the passing of ordinances and acts that would limit the use of impervious surfaces.
In conclusion, impervious surfaces pose a serious environmental threat to New York City’s water supply and New Yorkers’ general health, and ways to avoid the negative effects of these surfaces should be developed and enacted.
Yaggi Marc. 2001.”Impervious Surfaces in the New York City Watershed.” Fordham Environmental Law Journal Volume 489: 1-32.
