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Articles about Water by DEC Staff

The Division of Water has published many articles on a variety of topics, such as SPDES, CAFO, stormwater, infrastructure and watersheds. Over time, this page will grow, as we continue to add more articles. Many of these have been printed in the NYSDEC Conservationist magazine, professional journals, or Clear Waters, published by the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA).

Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure is an approach to managing stormwater runoff while maintaining or restoring green features such as stream buffers, floodplains, rain gardens, porous pavements, and many more. Several examples can be found on our webpage Green Infrastructure Examples for Stormwater Management in the Hudson Valley.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)

NYSDEC regulates discharges from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in order to protect water quality.

Dams & Flood Protection

The dam safety and flood control programs help to minimize the damages from flooding.

State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES)

The SPDES program is a permit-based program that limits the levels of pollutants permittees are allowed to discharge to the waters of New York State. Enforcing the permitted discharge levels is vital to protecting water quality and controling invasive species.

Stormwater / Floods

The stormwater program works with municipalities and permittees to reduce the impact of pollution conveyed by stormwater on the waters of New York.

Watersheds, Lakes, Rivers

These articles are on topics related to the management, monitoring and assessment of New York's 17 watersheds. For data and reports on specific watersheds, visit our Watersheds, Lakes and Rivers webpage.