A STORM-WATER MANAGEMENT STUDY: FLOOD IMPACTS ON THE RESIDENTS OF SOUTH JAMAICA, QUEENS

For more than two decades, the rising groundwater levels in Southeast Queens have all but destroyed the quality of life for hundreds of homeowners; especially in the neighborhoods of Jamaica. Along with poor drainage, the city’s decision to stop pumping out the millions of gallons per day, compounded to the rise water-table and made the area more vulnerable to flooding. Although the phenomenon of flood also occur in rural areas, it causes greater damage in urban cities due to the higher concentration of people, as well as assets and infrastructure that are prone to destruction. Hence, the damages and losses are greater in rural settlements and can impact regional development. It is also in cities where many resources are allocated for water management and sanitation whose malfunction or deficit often increases the risk of flooding. Taking into account that much of our city was built before modern flood proofing design regulations were developed; which makes NYC particularly vulnerable to flooding. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive summary of how residents in Jamaica area are affected by flooding in terms of storm-water runoff, groundwater level and types of BMPs adopted. To reach our goal, we collated the results of published and unpublished works related to the flooding in Jamaica and with this information we can establish that most of the problems in the Jamaica area are caused by storm-water runoff and are causing several affectations to Jamaica’s residents.