Why Street Creeks?
Why Street Creeks?
Cutaway view of Street Creek components
How it works
Street Creeks keeps urban waterways clean by preventing combined sewage overflows (CSOs.) Street Creeks does this by keeping storm water out of combined sewer systems so they don't get overloaded. The principle behind Street Creeks is to emulate natural hydrological and ecological systems in urban environments, using a distributed, de-centralized network of curbside channels and water-cleaning bioswales that treat the "first flush" of polluted surface runoff, and allow the remaining cleaner water to rainfall continue downhill.
What are CSO's?
What are CSO's?
CSOs are Combined Sewage Overflows, which occur when enough storm water (rainfall or snowmelt) enters a community's combined sewer system - in combination with the household and industrial sewage also flowing in these pipes - that it overloads a sewage treatment plant's capacity, and then by design overflows the excess directly into waterways. As little as 1/10th of an inch of rainfall can trigger a CSO, and about half of all rainfalls in New York City trigger CSOs, which add up to 27 billion gallons of this raw sewage and storm water cocktail dumping into our waterways every year. That's enough to fill a ten-foot diameter pipe from Times Square to Bangkok...surf's up!
How can I support Street Creeks?
Some of the many ways you can support Street Creeks and help make it a reality in your community.
How can I support Street Creeks?
Some of the many ways you can support Street Creeks and help make it a reality in your community.