ABOUT
OVER EIGHT HUNDRED COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE COMBINED WATER AND SANITARY SEWERS.
These combined systems transport household, commercial, and industrial wastewater along with storm water. As a result, when it rains, these systems can overflow, carrying untreated sewage and water into local and regional waterways. Build it Green (BIG) is a two-year initiative (2016-2017) to support three New Jersey cities, selected through a competitive application process, as they pursue innovative storm water management projects and strive to meet new environmental mandates under the Clean Water Act to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs).
The cost of addressing CSOs are estimated to run into the billions of dollars, straining the budgets of chronically cash-strapped communities that are also coping with a long list of other challenges. One way to spur near-term action to mitigate CSOs, and simultaneously open new funding sources, is to pursue integrated CSO projects. Integrated CSO projects (CSO+) are projects that reduce CSOs while also solving other important community challenges. The BIG Team provided partner cities with technical support, including capacity building, design, finance, and engineering services, to develop integrated CSO+ solutions. The results of this work include a Field Guide to CSO+ for other communities seeking to address similar challenges.
THE BIG TEAM
Build It Green is a collaborative program developed and led by re:focus partners and New Jersey Future with design support from SCAPE Landscape Architecture. Support for the BIG Competition was provided by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Health Initiatives program and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
PARTNER CITIES
Through the BIG Competition, Gloucester City, Jersey City, and Perth Amboy, New Jersey were selected to receive technical assistance and engineering support services to design innovative, financeable projects that reduce combined sewer outflows (CSOs) and solve multiple local problems at once.
GLOUCESTER, NJ
JERSEY CITY, NJ
PERTH AMBOY, NJ
“Jersey City will develop an integrated, innovative project to take on storm surge flooding, combined sewer overflows, and historic industrial contamination. These are issues that cross neighborhoods and affect some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, and we are honored to be selected for this unique opportunity.”
Mayor Steven Fulop
Mayor Wilda Diaz
REPORTS
A Field Guide to CSO+ is designed to empower decision makers charged with addressing CSOs in their communities. The guide includes a discussion aide that city and utility staff can use to strategize with their elected officials about city and utility priorities and outlines a set of tactics for pursuing relevant CSO+ projects and funding resources.
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
An Open Letter to Infrastructure Funders and Investors
The US is in desperate need of new infrastructure investment. [...]
New Report Highlights New Jersey Cities’ Leadership on Stormwater Infrastructure Innovation
April 4, 2017 — Today, New Jersey Future and re:focus [...]
Fixing sewers and local economies
Calls for new infrastructure investment typically focus on bridges and [...]
Dodge Partners with New Jersey Health Initiatives to Support Build It Green Competition
The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and New Jersey Health Initiatives [...]
An Open Letter to Infrastructure Funders and Investors
The US is in desperate need of new infrastructure investment. [...]
New Report Highlights New Jersey Cities’ Leadership on Stormwater Infrastructure Innovation
April 4, 2017 — Today, New Jersey Future and re:focus [...]
Fixing sewers and local economies
Calls for new infrastructure investment typically focus on bridges and [...]
Dodge Partners with New Jersey Health Initiatives to Support Build It Green Competition
The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and New Jersey Health Initiatives [...]