Mayor Adams and NYC Department of Environmental Protection Delivered Historic Progress on Climate Resilience, Infrastructure, Equity, and Water Quality

December 16, 2025

Sewer Upgrades, Modernized Water Supply, Coastal Resiliency, Flood Mitigation, Enhanced Services, and Renewable Energy Projects Are Reshaping NYC's Environmental Future and Improving Quality of Life for Millions

As the Adams Administration concludes, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) celebrates a record of accomplishments that have kept New Yorkers safe, strengthened critical infrastructure, and advanced climate resilience across all five boroughs. The agency has delivered unprecedented investments and innovations to protect residents, improve quality of life, and prepare the city for the challenges of climate change. Today, NYC Chief Climate Officer and DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala released a list of key achievements, including bolstering coastal resiliency, mitigating flood risks, preserving the ecological health of New York Harbor, conserving the city's vital tap water supply, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution-milestones that reflect the city's ongoing commitment to environmental protection, public health, and a more sustainable, resilient future for all New Yorkers.

"We took office with a simple promise: to 'Get Stuff Done,' and, four years later, our administration can say that we delivered on that promise every day for working-class New Yorkers," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "We drove shootings to record lows and pushed jobs and small businesses to record highs. We rewrote the playbook on homelessness and mental health to finally get New Yorkers living on our streets the help they need, and, after decades of half-measures, passed historic housing legislation to turn New York into a 'City of Yes.' We overhauled the way our students learn to read and do math, cut the cost of childcare, and forgave medical debt. We eliminated taxes for low-income families, launched free universal after-school programming, and constructed over 2,900 rain gardens and infiltration basins on sidewalks across the city. We got scaffolding off our buildings, trash bags off our streets, and opened up new public spaces for New Yorkers to enjoy. The haters may have doubted us, but the results are clear. On issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the better; it will stand the test of time because we made New York City the best place to live and raise a family."

"Over the past four years, we've confronted extreme weather, historic underinvestment, and unprecedented fiscal pressures-and still strengthened the systems and services millions of New Yorkers rely on every day. These achievements will safeguard our city for generations to come," said Commissioner Aggarwala. "DEP has delivered record capital investments, upgraded assets and critical facilities, advanced new technologies, embraced innovation and smart planning, expanded protections for vulnerable communities, improved resilience in every borough, and reinforced the long-term reliability of our drinking water supply. This legacy is one of progress, performance, and partnership."

Record Capital Investments

• $3.221 billion in FY25 capital commitments: the highest level since 2007. This record investment allowed DEP to accelerate long-delayed projects, modernize aging infrastructure, and expand resilience programs.
• $8.1 billion in commitments between FY23-FY25: the strongest three-year total in nearly two decades. These commitments funded stormwater upgrades, coastal resiliency projects, and water supply improvements, ensuring that New Yorkers benefit from infrastructure designed for the realities of climate change.

Protecting New Yorkers from Flooding

• Stormwater Analysis: For the first time, DEP formally embraced flooding prevention as a core mission. The 2024 Stormwater Analysis, which is the first building block for the master plan, identified 86 priority drainage areas and examined case studies in neighborhoods like Knickerbocker Avenue and Jewel Streets, laying the foundation for a citywide master plan.
• Prospect Park: DEP will invest up to a $50 million investment to build Brooklyn's first Bluebelt in Prospect Park. This initiative will not only improve drainage and prevent flooding in the park, but also protect surrounding neighborhoods from flash flooding, as well as the zoo.
• Jewel Streets Plan: DEP, along with DDC, DOT and HPD, are investing $146 million to install a comprehensive new drainage system, including a network of Bluebelts, to protect the low-lying neighborhood from flooding.
• Knickerbocker Avenue, Bushwick: A $390 million investment-$335 million from DEP and the remainder from DOT-will modernize sewers dating back to the early 1900s. Chronic flooding has plagued Bushwick for decades; this project will finally deliver relief while also replacing lead service lines at no cost to property owners.
• Southeast Queens Initiative: DEP continues to make progress on the $2.78 billion, multi-decade program to provide long-term flooding relief through the buildout of a comprehensive storm sewer network. Since 2015, the agency has invested $1.51 billion, completed 26 neighborhood projects, and has 7 more under construction, with 15 additional projects in design and development-including a $79 million triple-barrel sewer beneath Idlewild Park that rivals a subway tunnel in scale.
• Dyker Heights: DEP is upsizing key sewer pipes to improve drainage capacity. The $62 million project is currently in design with DDC and will address recurring flooding issues in this residential neighborhood.
• Kissena Park Bluebelt: DEP has set aside almost $55 million to collaborate with NYC Parks to create a new Bluebelt, holding regular community meetings to ensure local input. Bluebelts use natural wetlands to manage stormwater, providing both drainage and ecological benefits.
• Bluebelt Expansion: DEP completed a $110 million expansion of the New Creek Bluebelt, protecting Mid-Island communities from flooding while creating green space and wildlife habitat. Recently wrapped construction on a separate $14 million Bluebelt that will connect to the New Creek system, and work on more than 25 Bluebelts is currently under way.
• New Dorp Beach: Completed an $84 million infrastructure project that installed new storm sewers and catch basins in a coastal area of Staten Island that was devastated by Superstorm Sandy.
• Porous Pavement: $32.6 million to install seven miles of porous pavement-the longest stretch in city history-in Kensington and Borough Park, Brooklyn. As of December 2025, six of the seven miles are constructed. This innovative material allows water to drain directly into the ground, reducing flooding and improving harbor health.
• Cloudburst Project: Completed the city's first Cloudburst initiative, at a cost of $6 million, at the NYCHA South Jamaica Houses. Using stormwater management tools, including green and grey infrastructure, the assets have enough volume to capture 330,000 gallons per rain event, and manage up to 3.5 million gallons annually.

>Maintenance and Innovation

• Catch Basin Maintenance: DEP launched a data-driven inspection program to prioritize flood-prone basins, reducing resolution times by 30%. With nine new catch basin cleaning trucks, and expanded staff, clogged basins are now cleared in under three days.
• Sewer Maintenance: Over 2,500 miles of sewers were cleaned over the last four years.
• Leak Detection: DEP's leak detection unit has proactively inspected almost 5,000 miles of water mains, finding small leaks before they become disruptive breaks.
• FloodNet Sensors: Installed in neighborhoods vulnerable to high tides, storm surge, and stormwater runoff. There are currently 325 sensors citywide, with a goal of scaling up to 500. DEP uses the data to identify and track street flooding and to guide planning and operational efforts aimed at addressing chronic stormwater flooding.
• Sewer Monitors: Installed 241 sewer monitors citywide to measure water levels and in some locations flow in near real-time. These devices will help the agency's engineers better understand the performance of the sewer system during dry and wet weather, eventually leading to smart sewers.
• Slotted Manhole Covers: Installed 507 slotted manhole covers, which are paired with newly designed catch basins. These innovative covers ensure uninterrupted stormwater drainage flow to the sewers, even when debris obstructs curbside basins at flood-prone intersections.

Coastal Resilience

• Bureau of Coastal Resilience: Established to centralize and streamline efforts to protect New Yorkers from coastal storms, ensuring coordination across agencies and projects.
• East Side Coastal Resiliency: Completed the first phase of this $1.45 billion project ahead of schedule and under budget. ESCR will use elevated parkland, floodwalls, landscaped berms, and 18 swinging or sliding floodgates to create a continuous line of protection against sea-level rise and the more powerful coastal storms driven by climate change.
• Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resiliency: Construction is underway, with completion expected in 2026. This $350 million project will fortify Lower Manhattan against storm surges.
• Battery Coastal Resilience: A $200 million project to protect 100,000 residents, 300,000 jobs, and 12,000 businesses in Lower Manhattan.
• Red Hook Coastal Resiliency: Broke ground on this $218 million public safety project that will protect residents and businesses in the vulnerable waterfront neighborhood.

Cleaner Waterways and Greener Infrastructure

• Green Infrastructure: Since 2022, DEP has built over 2,900 rain gardens and infiltration basins within city sidewalks, plus 170 stormwater systems on public properties including schools, parks and NYCHA developments. Nearly 40 private projects have been incentivized through grants.
• Gowanus Canal CSO Tanks: DEP broke ground and has made significant construction progress on the $1.6 billion project to prevent 12 million gallons of sewage overflow into the Gowanus Canal during storms. The project will also create 4 acres of new public waterfront space.
• Newtown Creek CSO Tunnel: DEP negotiated a consent order modification, securing $3.2 billion in funding for a storage tunnel that will capture more sewage and deliver long-term ecosystem benefits.
• Whitestone and College Point Drainage Upgrades: $128 million and $139 million projects added miles of new sewers, eliminating millions of gallons of sewage discharge into Flushing Bay annually.
• Tibbets Brook Daylighting: After years of stalemate, DEP reached agreement with CSX Transportation to acquire land critical to the project, which will improve Harlem River water quality and add green space.
• Green Playgrounds: DEP partnered with the Trust for Public Land to open 29 new Green Infrastructure playgrounds that absorb stormwater and reduce flooding in neighborhoods across the city.

Renewable Energy and Climate Leadership

• Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) Gas-to-Grid: This innovative project, the first co-digestion and gas-to-grid project at a WRRF in New York State, has successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 28,000 metric tons in 2024-the same as removing 6,700 cars from NYC roads annually. By 2030, the program is expected to generate energy to heat over 35,000 homes and reduce GHG emissions by an estimated 170,000 metric tons. Since the project commissioning, the facility has recycled over 400,000 wet tons of food scraps and generated enough energy to heat over 12,000 homes.
• North River WRRF Cogeneration: Substantial completion of $300 million cogeneration project that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve facility resilience.

Wastewater Treatment

• Resiliency Upgrades: DEP has invested $180 million to upgrade eight wastewater resource recovery facilities and two pumping stations, including floodproofing equipment, hardening infrastructure, elevating power systems, and other measures to protect against future storms.
• Hunts Point WRRF: Constructing four 125-foot-tall tanks that each hold 3.2 million gallons of sludge at a cost of $368 million to expand capacity for converting organic waste into energy and reduce fugitive methane emissions. This will make the wastewater treatment process more efficient and reliable and to address quality of life concerns from the surrounding community. Also, completed $53M in resiliency upgrades to fortify the facility against severe storms.

Customer Assistance and Fiscal Responsibility

• Water Bill Amnesty Program: The largest in city history, delivering $22 million in interest relief and $8 million in billing credits to low-income New Yorkers who fell behind during the pandemic.
• Lead Service Line Replacement: Secured $72 million in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to remove lead water service lines from private properties in low-income and environmental justice neighborhoods. The program started in the Bronx and has recently expanded to reach additional communities, with Queens and Brooklyn targeted for 2026.
• Lien Sale: Restarting the sale in 2025 helped limit this year's rate increase to just 3.7%, instead of the 8.5% initially projected. The process brought $374 million in overdue revenue back into good standing-including $180 million in direct payments, $172 million in payment agreements, and $22 million from the sale itself. DEP, working with DOF and HPD, conducted a record outreach effort: nearly 500,000 mailings, 77,000 phone calls, 6,500 door knocks, and dozens of community events with Council members.
• Recouping Revenue: DEP's renewed focus on its largest delinquent customers-including the Port Authority of NY NJ and the MTA-resulted in amicable resolutions that will strengthen the agency's financial foundation and help fund the water and wastewater system for years to come. More than half of the top 35 delinquent accounts from 2022 have either resolved their delinquency or are in active payment agreements. DEP continues to engage in negotiations and has launched a new Key Accounts Group to better focus its ongoing efforts and ensure all customers pay their fair share.

Investing In and Managing NYC's Drinking Water

• Delaware Aqueduct: Continued progress on the final phase of DEP's largest-ever repair effort, the $2 billion Delaware Aqueduct Repair Project. Once complete, it will prevent 35 million gallons of drinking water from leaking into the ground in upstate New York each day and ensure that New Yorkers continue to receive some of the highest-quality drinking water in the world for generations to come.
• City Tunnel 3: Completed excavation of two deep water tunnel shafts in Maspeth-Shaft 17B at roughly 780 feet and Shaft 18B at about 720 feet. Once operational, these shafts will connect to the Queens-Brooklyn section of City Tunnel 3 and help distribute water to surrounding neighborhoods.
• Drought Management: In 2024, DEP successfully managed the first citywide drought in 20 years, maintaining a safe water supply for drinking and fire protection. Initiated a public information campaign to spread awareness and promote conservation.
• Kensico-Eastview Connection Tunnel: A $1.9 billion project broke ground, adding resilience and redundancy to the water supply system.
• Hillview Reservoir Reconstruction: A $1.2 billion modernization project broke ground, upgrading treatment facilities and infrastructure at a reservoir that provides 90% of NYC's daily drinking water.
• Schoharie Reservoir and Gilboa Dam: Completed $400 million upgrades to strengthen northernmost water supply facilities.
• Watershed Region: Committed $228 million to farm and forest landowners in the watershed region to protect water quality while supporting the economic viability of agriculture and forestry in the area.
• Automatic Meter Reading Modernization: Began a three-year effort to upgrade 600,000 devices citywide, improving leak detection and enhancing customer service.

Protecting Public Health and Improving Quality of Life

• Citizens' Complaint Program: Managed the significant expansion of this program-which targets illegal idling by trucks and buses-with more than 150,000 complaint submissions in 2025. Submitted video evidence is now available online, helping to streamline and speed the settlement of cases.
• Noise Camera Program: Installed 12 cameras citywide to target illegally modified vehicles that violate the Noise Code, resulting in more than 1,600 summonses issued in 2025.
• NYC Noise App: DEP launched a free mobile app for iPhone and Android that lets residents record decibel levels, classify noise types, and visualize noise in their surroundings. The data collected helps DEP analyze citywide noise patterns, identify hotspots, and guide targeted enforcement efforts.
• Adopt-A-Catch Basin: A new pilot initiative designed to empower community members to take an active role in reducing local street flooding. The program seeks volunteers to help keep catch basin grates clear of debris, ensuring that rainwater can flow freely into the City's sewer system.
• Borough Commissioners: Appointed senior staff to serve as the primary liaisons between DEP and communities, elected officials, and other stakeholders across the five boroughs.
• Flooding Town Halls: DEP partnered with elected officials, community boards, and local organizations to hold flood kit distribution events and information sessions around the city, supplying flood barriers, sump pumps, and flood sensors. Since summer 2024, DEP has held 18 flood preparedness community meetings providing information and resources to thousands of New Yorkers.

About the NYC Department of Environmental Protection

DEP manages New York City's water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP also protects the health and safety of New Yorkers by enforcing the Air and Noise Codes and asbestos rules. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on X.