Habitat (RI section 3.1.7)

Situated between Brooklyn and Queens, Newtown Creek and its tributaries provide a unique and locally important shallow water habitat for a variety of species from crabs and fish to birds and mammals (see Section 3.1.8). The aquatic habitat is mostly subtidal, supporting benthic macroinvertebrates (dominated by oligochaetes [segmented worms]), polychaetes (bristle worms; Nereis virens), amphipods (small crustaceans), epibenthic invertebrates such as crabs and bivalves, and resident fish such as mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), as well as limited use by non-resident migratory fish such as striped bass (Morone saxatilis). Intertidal areas that could provide additional foraging habitat for fish, crabs, birds, and mammals, are mostly confined to the headwaters of Maspeth Creek.

At low tide, approximately 5% of the Study Area could potentially provide forage habitat for sediment-probing birds or birds that forage by wading in shallow water (see Section 2.1.3 of Appendix I). Of that, 68% is within sediment mounds or “mud flats” located in the vicinity of some active outfalls and bulkheaded areas; the remaining 32% is made up of riprap or narrow strips of shoreline. Due to the semidiurnal tidal patterns in the Study Area, forage habitat for these sediment-probing and wading birds decreases rapidly as the tide rises and is close to 0% at high tide.  In contrast, available forage habitat increases during high tide for fish, crabs, and birds such as the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) that forage by swimming and diving. 

For mammals such as the raccoon (Procyon lotor), access to the intertidal areas is limited in some areas due to the vertical bulkheads and other anthropogenic features along the shoreline, although raccoons may have some access behind and under bulkheads. Submerged macrophytes were occasionally observed floating in the Study Area near the East River (e.g., sea lettuce [Ulva lactuca]), or attached to pilings and riprap (e.g., green algae [Enteromorphia] and brown algae [Desmarestia]), but none were observed rooted in the Study Area sediment.

The only rooted emergent aquatic macrophytes observed during the Phase 2 sampling were patches of non-native common reed (Phragmites australis) toward the head of Maspeth Creek. The lack of an aquatic macrophyte community in the Study Area could be due to a number of physical attributes such as limited sloped areas due to the vertical nature of the shoreline, wave action from daily boat and barge traffic, and high turbidity leading to sunlight limitations and reduced photosynthesis, as well as contaminants. These attributes, in combination, likely limit the establishment and growth of macrophytes (see Section 2.1.3 of Appendix I).

Historically, Newtown Creek and its tributaries have been impacted by industrial discharges, municipal discharges, and spills. As described in Section 3.2.6.15, by the late 1880s, numerous oil refineries were operating along the creek, and additional manufacturing operations followed into the beginning of the twentieth century. These included petrochemical plants; animal rendering operations, such as fertilizer and glue factories; copper smelting; sugar refining; pencil manufacturing; manufactured gas production; sawmills; and lumber and coal yards.

Direct discharge to Newtown Creek was the primary method for disposal of stormwater, sewage, and industrial wastewater prior to the early twentieth century. Historical industrial discharges included waste liquor from grease vats and digesters at fertilizer and fat rendering facilities; oily wash water generated during the kerosene treating process at refineries; condensate from exhaust hoods at varnish and printing works; effluent from air-scrubbing systems; and cooling water, plating wastes, and plant clean-up water from the manufacture of electrical wiring devices (BPL 1890; Hazen and Sawyer 1960; Hurley 1994; NYSL 1900; Baker and Kent 1887).

Early municipal sewer systems also discharged directly to the creek. In the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, direct discharges from sewers operated by NYC regularly added raw sewage and other pollutants into the creek. By 1910, intercepting sewers (i.e., interceptors) had been constructed in some areas near the creek to convey flows to the East River where they were discharged without treatment. However, stormwater, sewage, and industrial wastewater continued to discharge to the creek via relief outfalls in areas without interceptors and when the capacity of the interceptor pipes was exceeded (Metropolitan Sewerage Commission of New York 1910; Board of Water Commissioners 1867; War Department 1891, 1915, 1936a; USEPA 2011).

Since 1967, when the Newtown Creek WWTP began operating, stormwater (from areas served by combined sewer systems), sewage, and industrial wastewater flows have been conveyed to either the Bowery Bay WWTP or Newtown Creek WWTP for treatment prior to discharge outside the Study Area. However, in some portions of the Study Area, direct discharges of stormwater from private sites and MS4s, as well as CSOs, continued and are ongoing today (see Figure 3-5 and Section 3.2.8 for more details on discharges to Newtown Creek).

As discussed in Section 5 of this RI Report and Section 2.1.3.4 of Appendix E, annual CSO discharge to the creek is approximately 1,600 million gallons (MG). Bypasses may also occur during dry weather when the combined sewer infrastructure malfunctions (NYCDEP 2011c, 2012b, 2013a, 2014b, 2015, 2016a). These dry weather bypasses are infrequent, short-term discharges and result in discharge of a small volume compared to that of the wet weather CSO discharges. In areas not served by combined sewers, direct discharges of stormwater from MS4s (330 MG annually) to Newtown Creek are ongoing.

As documented by NYC, CSO discharges have likely contributed to subtidal surface sediment with an organic carbon (OC) content greater than 3 wt%, which may contribute to impairment of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in Newtown Creek (Hyland et al. 2000 as cited in NYCDEP 2011a). The bacterial decomposition of organic matter results in a decrease in DO and an increase of toxic byproducts such as ammonia and sulfide (Diaz and Rosenberg 1995; Hyland et al. 2005; Norton et al. 2002; Pelletier et al. 2011). DO below 2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) results in hypoxic conditions that adversely affect the respiration of benthic macroinvertebrates (CENR 2010; Gray et al. 2002; Brown et al. 2000) and can result in local extinction, except within the microbial community (CENR 2010; Llanso 1992).

This is made worse during the summer months when water temperatures are elevated and the bacterial degradation of organic matter is accelerated (Gray et al. 2002). During the summer Phase 1 surveys in 2012, surface water DO at depth fell below the New York State Class SD threshold of 3 mg/L, particularly in the tributaries; the benthic macroinvertebrate community was impaired even further, with no macroinvertebrates found in surface sediment at tributary stations (see Appendix I). A series of infrastructure projects are being completed by NYC in the Newtown Creek sewershed to address CWA requirements such as surface water DO. These projects include the installation of an aeration system in certain areas of Newtown Creek and a CSO long-term control plan (LTCP; see Section 3.2.8.3.1).