11. Hurricane Sandy
Deaths: Sandy, the largest Atlantic system on record, killed 159 people,
according to NOAA. Including 43 people in NYC
Homes destroyed: Sandy damaged or destroyed at least 650,000 homes and
250,500 insured vehicles. More than 300,000 business properties were also
affected, .
Power: During Sandy's immediate aftermath, more than 8.5 million
customers lost power, .
Surge: Sandy set historical maximum recorded water levels at the Battery
in New York, Kings Point, N.Y.; Bergen Point, N.Y., Sandy Hook, N.J.,
Bridgeport, Conn., and New Haven Conn., according to NOAA.
Cost: Superstorm Sandy caused $65 billion in damage in the U.S., making it
the second-costliest weather disaster in American history behind only
Hurricane Katrina, -- (NOAA).
Turn West: It was the first time in modern recorded history that a storm took
a sharp turn to the west and hit New Jersey. A scientific study said it was a
once-in-700-years track.
12.
13. Tonight’s Goal
Over view of what is going on in Jamaica Bay
Three main topics—
Habitat/Wetlands
Water quality
Fish and Wildlife
*-12- Short presentations-
14. Local Input
JBEW and ALS and their members out on the bay
every day of the year
Collectively thousands of hours of observation time
on bay each year
Observations often pick up on new trends or
developments ie Wetland loss ,water quality changes,
Grassioli , Ulva , Algae blooms ,Cow nosed rays, …
28. Habitat/Wetlands
• Wetlands Loss first discovered by JBEW in 1995
• Loss rate put at 40 acres per year
• Advocacy led to restoration efforts
– Big Egg— year 2002--- 2 Acres
– Elders East--Year 2006--- 40 Acres
– Elders West-Year 2010----40 Acres
– Yellow Bar---Year 2012----44 Acres
– Rulers Bar---2012 Year--------- 12 Acres
– Blackwall----2012/15 Year-------- 20 Acres
42. Alternative Concepts
Adjacent Slurry Sediment Enrichment
Smaller projects
Worked at Big Egg Restoration-and in Louisiana
Sand source is at times limited
Save the area before full fragmentation occurs
Greatly Reduced price
Natural process for grading
Less invasive and impacting ---no pipes, ships , heavy
machinery
Can be conducted as a maintenance projects
45. Water Quality
2010 Nitrogen Agreement
Negotiated agreement between JBEW,ALS,NY/NJ
Baykeeper, NRDC and City of New York
Most significant impact to water quality in the bay
since inception of Dewatering operations began
From high of over 50,000 LBS of Nitrogen per day to
Less than 30,000 LBS per day and will continue to drop
with additional upgrades that are coming on line
46. Nitrogen Agreement Back story
1995-1999 JBEW documented increase in Algae
Blooms and noted changes in Secchi Readings
2004-2009 discussions with DEC and DEP over
concerns on Nitrogen Loading
2009-Clean water lawsuit brought forth by NRDC
representing JBEW ,ALS, NY/NJ Baykeeper
Lawsuit on hold-December 2009 negotiations
February 2010 –Press conference announcing
Agreement---$100,000,000 plant upgrades and
$15,000,000-in Wetland restoration funds
48. Reduced Nitrogen Effects
“cleaner water”- visibility- most
notable during height of summer
Decrease in Algae Blooms
No incidence of Fish die offs
Wetlands effect ?—Tipping
Point?
49. Water Quality
Other Water Quality Projects
Oyster projects--NYC DEP –presentation cleaning the
water Naturally ?—John McLaughlin DEP
Marine Debris Removal—Lisa ALS
51. Conditions Present
Hydrogen sulfide smell
High heat/ direct sun/Midday full moon low
Low oxygen levels
Low water depths
Very high water temps over 80 degrees F
55. Post Construction Monitoring
Part of Nitrogen agreement
Will measure the impact of
upgrades
Will seek to collect additional
Data
ie: Ulva studies
62. Fish Survey Results
Water Temperatures and Bait have huge impact as
larger fish move in and out of bay
Very cold winter. Water temps in bay remained cold
late into spring affected the bait and also the
predators
Fall saw very warm temperatures late into the season
and also affected the populations present
63. Survey
Striped bass—
below average in spring
Below average during summer
Fall run is late and starting to show large increases in
bay
Blue Fish –
• Similar but had picked up in August within the bay
Menhadden—
* Late start due to water temperatures. Large schools in
August with the smaller Peanut Bunker present as well
64. Survey
Fluke (summer Flounder)
Reports of large numbers early and good size catches
dropped off going into middle of summer and catch
sizes also reduced
Off shore Populations seemed to stay stable
Blue Claw Crab
Non Existent? Very low populations for last three
years. Including night time surveys on mud Flats—
Hurricane Related ?? Cyclical ??
