Challenge #4 | Find Your CSO Outfall
Time: 30 minutes
Materials Needed: your computer
Green infrastructure is largely intended to lessen the negative impacts of precipitation on the sewer system by reducing combined sewer outfalls, but where do CSO outfalls occur? Believe it or not, there is a simple online tool for finding out where all the CSO outfalls are in NYC. Using this tool, identify your sewershed (the area which drains to a single point) and find out where your water goes during heavy rains.
1. Visit Open Sewer Atlas.
2. Click “map.”
3. Enter your address.
4. Determine your CSO outfall.
5. Scroll around Open Sewer Atlas until you find your outfall. Take a screen shot of your CSO outfall.
HINT: check the nearest coastlines first.
6. Go to Google Earth or Google Maps and try to find that same place on Google. Take a screen shot.
7. Answer the following questions about your CSO outfall:
a) How many people live in your sewershed?
b) How many houses are in your sewershed?
c) How many gallons of water fall on your sewershed during a 1 inch storm?
d) What is the receiving water body for your CSO outfall?
e) According to google maps, what is near to your CSO outfall?
8. Send the two screen shots and answers to the questions about your outfall to Stephanie at smm523@drexel.edu
9. Go back to Open Sewer Atlas. Read one of the articles posted on the blog and write a short Journal post about what you learned.
You know your job is complete when…..
You have completed steps 1-7, written a short Journal post about what you learned from Open Sewer Atlas, and included your screen shots and findings about your CSO outfall as part of your Journal post. Be sure to include your named. If you are having trouble writing a Journal post or uploading your files, please email your completed challenge to swredrexel@gmail.com.