A pilot program unveiled by the city will monitor elevated flow levels in sewers in hopes to prevent future flooding.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) installed 21 manhole covers — 11 in Queens — with monitoring sensors that will alert the agency when there is an elevated flow in the sewer.
Crews will then be sent out to perform necessary maintenance to help ward off flooding during heavy rain.
Flooding in the borough is becoming an increasingly prominent issue as many residents throughout Queens were flooded multiple times during storms this summer.
“Maintaining our 7,400 miles of sewer lines requires the smart allocation of resources and this monitoring technology will alert us to the areas that are most in need of attention,” said DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland. “When elevated flow levels are detected our staff will be able to inspect, and if necessary perform maintenance, on the sewer line and stop a problem before it gets worse.”
The pilot program will cost $300,000. Twenty more manhole covers uquipped with the sensors will be installed in the spring.
