Can you tell us a little about the design for Street Creeks? How would they work?
Atema: We keep storm water out of the combined sewer system by collecting it in channels next to the curb that run downhill to the nearest body of water. We also divert the “first flush” of runoff – which contains the majority of surface pollution – into shallow tanks that feed into little gardens on every block called “bioswales” that are designed to clean the water. This allows the remaining, much cleaner water to flow downhill much like it would a natural watershed. By keeping the storm water out of the sewer pipes, the sewage treatment plants can focus on treating sewage, and we can use the storm water as the valuable resource it is. And the system is designed to use gravity to move the water (as our city’s amazing water supply system does), which keeps parts simple and operating energy use near zero.
Read more: Street Creeks: How These Pretty Rainwater Gardens Could Vastly Improve Water Quality in NYC | Inhabitat New York City