New York City Pushes High-Tech, Low-Cost Sound Investment
Long Island Sounds small size, peculiar hydrology and proximity to New York City and growing urban and suburban centers in Connecticut and Long Island have long combined to pressure the quality of its water. Like elsewhere in the U.S., it rebounded quickly in the years following the implementation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. But increasing nitrogen levels traced to effluent discharged from the regions wastewater treatment plants slowly began choking the air and life from the 1,320-sq-mile water body. While Connecticut began targeting nitrate removal in 1998, New York City balked over a crippling $11-billion compliance estimate. Now, city officials are betting on recently developed Dutch technology to help cut those costs to less than $2 billion. Click here to view maps