Tibbetts Brook Stream Daylighting

Project Description

Tibbetts Brook, a tributary to the Harlem River, drains more than 2500 acres, including most of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers, NY. For nearly a century, however, the lower section of the stream has been piped and connected to a combined sewer system. When preliminary studies showed that removing the brook’s flow from the system would reduce the number of combined sewer overflow events in Harlem, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation initiated the City’s first stream daylighting effort.

As the ecological consultant on a team led by HDR and including DLANDstudio, Biohabitats helped develop a series of concepts to daylight the stream and reroute it along a former rail line. After analyzing existing data, models, community interests, opportunities, and constraints, the team crafted a concept to restore hydrologic and ecological conditions to the stream while creating opportunities for open space, recreation, and environmental education. The concept diverts water from an existing pipe back into the Harlem River and enhances Tibbetts wetland within the park.

The conceptual phase of the project was funded through a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant intended to enhance storm resiliency, water