New York saved $80 crore by choosing wetlands over sewers

The Story in Brief

In the 1990s, New York chose wetlands over conventional storm sewers on Staten Island, saving taxpayers $80 million (about Rs 640 crore) in infrastructure costs. The city preserved natural streams, ponds, and marshes instead of laying underground pipes. This Staten Island Bluebelt model later shaped the city's Wetlands Strategy and PlaNYC 2011 Waterways plan, which combined green infrastructure with grey engineering. The strategy aimed to cut combined sewer overflows by 40 per cent and save over $2 billion compared to building only concrete tanks.

Urban expansion has wiped out over 90 per cent of New York's freshwater wetlands and 85 per cent of coastal wetlands in the harbour estuary. The city's Green Infrastructure Plan, launched in 2010, committed $1.5 billion over 20 years to capture stormwater at ground level. Targeted restoration sites include Pugsley Creek, Soundview Park, and Jamaica Bay, which remains a vital habitat for over 325 bird species.