Cloudburst Infrastructure

This week’s storm was a reminder that cloudburst storms are becoming more and more common in New York City. These sudden and intense rain events often overwhelm city stormwater infrastructure, leading to severe flooding, property damage, and dangerous conditions for city residents. As a way to increase city resiliency, cloudburst Infrastructure is being installed to better manage these short but powerful events. 

Cloudburst management tactics rely on incorporating green infrastructure into our existing stormwater systems. These solutions include rain gardens, underground water storage, increased urban trees, and more. Rather than directing rain to the already overwhelmed city storm drains, many of these solutions aim to slow water down and soak it up on site. Concentrating these solutions in areas with intense flooding will not only reduce the effects of cloudbursts, but they will lower the strain on city-wide infrastructure. 

A great co-benefit of cloudburst infrastructure is that they may also serve as community amenities like parks and open spaces that provide recreation opportunities, habitat for urban wildlife, and urban green space! It’s exciting to see the City is exploring cloudburst infrastructure!