Enhancement of Estuary and Ecological System

Strategies
Terraced Tidal Flats at Sea Walls Floating Wetlands in Tidal Shallows Upland Ecological Restoration

The demands To be meT are many:

1. Rising sea levels, temperature rise and increasing storm intensity due to climate change 2. More robust storm surges and coastal flood potential 3. Increased population in NYC needing the benefits of natural systems. 4. Increased need for soft path servicing, ecological treatment of wastewater and passive water quality improvement methods. 5. Need for increased natural bio-diversity and re-establishment of wetland habitats.

The possibiliTies for creaTing a beTTer ciTy are many:

6. Inspired, aesthetic and humane urban landscapes and garden environments 7. Cultural, educational, and scientific facilities and study areas 8. Increased recreational and traditional park areas 9. General raising of the citys profile as a place of urban ecological adaptation and climate change mitigation 10. Increased real estate possibility in previously under valued or contaminated areas 11. Less reliance of fossil fuel based water treatment and storm water management 12. Increase desirability of small scale and diverse water based transportation options

CONSTRUCTED WETLAND New York Harbor CASE STUDY

To transform the harbor and estuaries to meet the changing demands of the coming decades and to offer a richer and more ecologically employ various strategies and support interventions at multiple scales. Ecological enhancement should be incremental and opportunistic, allowing for the testing of ideas and the development of different localized landscapes. Sitespecific project developments will allow for the verification of adaptability, efficiency, and performance for each type of proposed ecological system improvements. The overall direction should be towards creating more articulated edge conditions, more diverse biological zones and improved habitats. Increased ecological complexity and the potential for biological systems to thrive can also provide the benefits of ecological servicing: storm surge protection, natural water filtration, stream flow stabilization and increased recreational, cultural and economic opportunities. integrated urban environment will require planning approaches that

BuSHwick iNlEt
In the low lying land that defines the border between Greenpoint and Williamsburg is the Bushwick Inlet, the only remaining feature of a stream that once meandered inland about one mile, to the area around the present day McCarren Park. Many blocks within this area are post-industrial brown-fields. Inland restoration of this area proposes a park and wetland system organized around a winding stream and tidal flood plain carried out without de-mapping the existing city street system, allowing the grid to continue uninterrupted.

wHalE crEEk
The Whale Creek tributary was filled to provide land for petroleum industries seeking building sites along the Newtown Creek. The Whale Creek that once flowed into a salt marsh, currently ends at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Restoration of Whale Creek proposes to introduce broad shallow pools bordering mudflats and marshlands placing a wetland system in proximity to a centralized wastewate r facility. The wetland would act as a supplemental filtration system, working to clean overflow, urban run-off as well as a processed effluent and be a visible symbol of integrated infrastructure.

HallEtS covE
East and opposite the northern tip of Roosevelt Island is a calm part of the east River know as Hallets cove. This natural inlet just south of the Hell Gate is defined and protected by the extension of land to the north, Hallets point. The northern rocky shorelines were filled to expand the land area of Astoria. The proposal imagines island areas and near shore wetlands built of rock and earth platforms and through the excavation and shallow dredging of backfilled lands along the southwestern edge.

GraNd FErrY Park

The Williamsburg Waterfront, between the Bushwick Inlet and the Williamsburg Bridge, is an industrial seawall. Where Grand Street meets the shore however, the seawall is broken by a small riprap section of boulders. While providing protection for the 1.6 acres of the Grand Ferry Park from the impact of tides, this rocky edge provides a coveted direct connection with the East River. The conversion of riprap to coastal shoal and the introduction of floating wetlands proposes a limited conversion of hard parkland edge to a vegetated coastline.

Navigational Dredging Policy should be made to concentrate maritime industry and shipping at critical zones. The overall amount of channelization should be reduced to support functioning navigational routes and maintain active berths (with an allowance for expanding maritime activity as a transportation alternative.) Channelization and navigational dredging should incorporate environmental cleanup of contaminated waterways and not be maintained simply because it has been the historical prerogative. One Prize Registration #130
Historic Tidelands 1815

IMAGE CREDIT: ONE PRIZE / COOPER UNION

Tideland Conditions 2008

KYUNG-AHN CHUN BIOLOGICAL SEWAGE WATER TREATMENT

IMAGE CREDIT: MINSOO DOO

CASCADIA WATER SEMINAR : COME RAIN OR COME SHINE

Increasing populations will place growing demands on our nations aging water and wastewater infrastructure. The integration of closedloop systems that emphasize water efficiency, and on-site supply, treatment and reuse is becoming increasingly important as communities seek to strengthen the resiliency of their water systems.

ISSUES IN WATER MANAGEMENT > ENVIRONMENTAL > SOCIAL/HEALTH > ECONOMIC

IMAGE CREDIT: CASCADIA GBC

THE PLANETARY BOUNDARIES : RESILIENCE AND PRIORITY

IMAGE CREDIT: STOCKHOLM RESILENCE CENTER

CLIMATE CHANGE CONSIDERATION :AN ALTERNATIVE TO AGING INFRASTRUCTURE

Most urban water infrastructures are becoming vulnerable to extreme rainfall events due to climate change (CC). Maintaining such system becomes costly because of aging infrastructure and increasing energy cost. Furthermore, an alternative water infrastructure should be introduced to reduce the CO2 emission.
Han, M. Y., MUN, J. S., and KIM, H. J, An Example of Climate Change Adaptation by Rainwater Management at the Star City Rainwater Project

BACK TO THE INITIAL GROUND : PERCEPTION AND APPRECIATION

IMAGE CREDIT: LS ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

UPCOMING CHALLENGES : UNSOLICITED HYBRID WETLANDS PROJECTS

IMAGE CREDIT: TURENSCAPE, NOEL HARDING STUDIO, LS ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

IN RESPONSE TO... ALTERNATIVE WATER MANAGEMENT GROWING APPRECIATION AND CONFUSION QUESTIONS ON HYBRID PROJECTS AND VARIED SITE CONDITIONS

> WHAT IS THE VALUE, MEANING AND ROLE OF THE WETLANDS? > HOW DO YOU DEFINE CONSTRUCTED? > WHAT ARE THE COMMON TYPES OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS AND HOW SHOULD WE APPROACH THEIR DESIGN AND MANAGE MENT DIFFERENTLY?

LITERATURE/BACKGROUND

WETLANDS ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

LOW IMPACT DEVELOPEMENT URBAN/RURAL DESIGN GUIDELINES

DECENTRALIZED WATER MANAGEMENT WATER TREATMENTS/SEWAGE/GREYWATER

performance of these systems could enable further acceptance and appreciation of artificial wetlands.

METHODS

Approach and Methods

I would like to begin with a basic question, what is wetland? and how do you define constructed?. Topics in water managements, low impact developments, and function-based landscape infrastructure will be examined to lay out a theoretical framework. Then, I would like to look and compare various types of artificial wetlands from large to small, urban and rural, contained and loose, natural and engineered, in order to deduce some kind of classification system of artificial wetlands and the baseline/criteria for monitoring and evaluation. Then, 3 projects of different scales will be selected for further case study evaluations.

Initial Case Studies - Purposes and Features

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

Case 4

Case 5

Type Purpose Feature Benefit Case Studies: What are the common types of constructed wetlands?

Broad classification and setting baseline/criteria In addition to personally visiting and evaluating each of these 3 project, I hope I would be able based on secondary research to contact and interview designers and site maintenance people or managers (i.e. government agency, In-depth Case Studies - Evaluation/Management -Magnuson Wetlands -Crissy Fields -Saemanguem Land Reclaimation Interview -Berger -PWA Consulting -LS Environmetal Restoration -US Corps of Engineers
community group, etc.). From whom, I would be able to learn how those project have been evolved over time and how they dealt with expected processes and unexpected challenges. Ultimately, I would like to derive a few criteria for designing and managing a successful artificial wetlands system according to its size, location and other classifying factors.

CASE/SITES

IMAGE CREDIT: BERGER PARTNERSHIP, GREENMONKEY, PANORAMIO

PROGRESS/CHALLENGES

PROGRESS -Initial Literature Review -Understanding Intediciplinary Dynamics -Establishing Research Questions -Reviewing Potential Sites

CHALLENGES -Self-Confusion of the Topic / Spilling Out -Site Selection for Monitoring and Evaluation -Balancing Objectivity and Having a Perspective