The Role of Urban Forests in Federally Mandated CSO Abatement in Syracuse, NY

50 Pages·2011·3.94 MB·English

04/15/11
The Role of Urban Forests 1
in Federally Mandated
CSO Abatement in
Syracuse, NY

Stephen Harris, City-County Arborist
Syracuse Department of Parks,
Recreation & Youth Programs
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Syracuse’s Urban Forest 2
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3
SYRACUSE’S URBAN FOREST
Street Tree Population
1951 = 49,000
Loss of elm
1978 = 39,000
Labor Day Storm
1999 = 32,000
Planting=Removals
2011 = 31,500
Also, 10,000 Park Trees
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4
Forestry Division
Staff: Arborist, 2 Trimmers, 1 Seasonal
▫ 1400 Inspections, 170-300 plantings
▫ 500 Trims; 300 removals;
▫ 48% Service requests
▫ 25% Inter-departmental referrals
▫ 12% Day-time emergency or call out
▫ 7% Off-hours Emergency
▫ 3% +/- bucket truck used elsewhere
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5
Hazard Tree Removal Backlog
• Average removal before 2005 = 459 tree
• Average removal rates since = 257 trees
• About 100 trees removed for sidewalks
• Hazard tree population ~800 trees
• About 200 are high priority removals
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Top 7 Street Trees
6
Sugar
Ash
5%
Silver
5%
5%
Linden
Other
6%
41%
Crabapple
6%
Honey
locust
Norway
9%
maple
23%
Ash Are Middle Aged
40 04/15/11
7
35
2300 City-owned
30
ash
25

T
N 20
E
C
R
15
E
P
10
5
0
Diameter Class
Save the Rain
Program Overview
Joanne M. Mahoney, County Executive
Amended Consent Judgment
Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement
Compliance Program for Onondaga Lake
What is a CSO?
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• 1988 – Atlantic States Legal History 10
Foundation files lawsuit against

County
Onondaga Lake Facts
• 1989 – Litigation settled
Watershed: 285 Square Miles
• Four Amended Consent
1 Mile Wide – 4.6 Miles Long
Judgments (ACJ)
Average Depth: 35 feet
▫ 1998, 2006, & 2008 ACJs
▫ Reflects evolution in Gray
Max Depth: 63 feet
Infrastructure Technology
employed 1940 – Swimming Banned
• 4th ACJ in 2009 authorized use
1970 – Fishing Banned
of Gray & Green infrastructure