OptiRTC, the leader in forecast-based control of distributed stormwater infrastructure through cloud-based solutions was able to successfully manage storm waters in the last two months as Hurricanes Elsa, Henri and Ida caused unprecedented and devastating damage along the East Coast.  New York City issued its first ever flash flood warning this month. 

Environmental leaders with the vision to adopt smart stormwater technology were able to protect the environment and      their communities from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and flooding. In 2016 the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York adopted Opti’s technology.  During Hurricane Elsa Opti’s Continuous Monitoring and Adaptive Control (CMAC) technology was able to anticipate the event and open the valve for a pre-event drawdown of water which successfully captured the storms mitigating combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and flooding downstream. The technology handled the 2.6 inches of estimated rainfall in a total drainage area of 13.9 acres and a total impervious area of 3.1 acres. The runoff was 212,746 gallons and the wet weather capture volume was 201,974 gallons for a 95% wet weather capture.

The Arbor House Affordable Housing Development in Bronx, NY contains two cisterns which provide over 15,000 gallons of rainwater storage. Ahead of Hurricane Henri, the Opti system proactively drew down the water level to capture runoff, mitigate downstream flooding and CSOs. Captured runoff is then used for urban agriculture irrigation at the rooftop greenhouse. With an estimated rainfall of 5.9 inches and a total drainage area of .64 acres 13,842 gallons of wet weather was captured.

“It is clear that we need to modernize our infrastructure to help us better predict, prepare and manage large storm events,” said David Rubinstein, CEO of OptiRTC.  “We are seeing leaders with the vision to be proactive instead of waiting for the storms to devastate a community. Now is the time for leadership to find solutions to mitigate the effects of storms and protect our environment and our communities.”