超级风暴桑迪（Superstorm Sandy）对该地区的权力，运输和机构基础设施的影响显然是遭受中断，延误和错位的数百万客户的影响。对于大多数人来说，飓风对饮用水和废水处理厂的影响（饮用水和废水处理厂）的影响不太明显，但会放大他们对风和水威胁的脆弱性。
Sandy caused 11 billion gallons of partially treated and untreated sewage to flow from plants flooded by storm surges or rain into waterways in Washington, D.C., and eight East Coast states last October, according to a report by Climate Central, a Princeton, N.J., environmental group. More than 94% of the total Sandy-generated sewage overflow occurred in New York and New Jersey, with four wastewater treatment plants in the two states each reporting flows of more than 1 billion gallons. That is despite what the group said were "heroic" efforts by operations staff to reduce the impacts. Treatment plant recovery, damage repair and resiliency building already are costing the two states more than $3.7 billion, and the tab is far from final.
气候中央报告作者兼高级科学家Alyson Kenward说：“桑迪表明了该地区的污水处理厂对上升和沿海风暴的极端脆弱性。”她指出，设施的宽阔的地下烟斗，握着坦克和泵，这些罐子和泵可以在洪水退缩后很长时间保持水坑和无能为力。”
Assessing the impacts
在新泽西州纽瓦克（Newark），该州最大的设施和美国第五大客户，为140万客户提供服务，没有比Passaic Valley Deferage委员会（PVSC）废水处理厂更难受到打击。一场12英尺的风暴潮袭击了该工厂，削减了动力，并在两周后次要治疗恢复之前，将38亿加仑未经处理的废水送入纽瓦克湾。隧道和地下工艺区域充满了超过3700万加仑的盐水。PVSC维护监督杰里·奥塞拉多（Jerry Oselador）说：“在活动期间，我们失去了污水泵。
PVSC首席工程师约翰·罗托洛（John Rotolo）注意到养育工厂的不切实际性，他说，有一种多维洪水缓解策略，其中包括潜水泵和洪水障碍，工艺控制升高，恢复的脱水离心机和新的雨水水泵站。Rotolo说，该工厂已提交了FEMA资金请求，在160英亩的设施周围建造了2500万美元的墙壁，高达19英尺，这可能需要长达五年的时间才能完成。他说，未来的项新利18备用网址目还将升级到每天超过7亿加仑的能力，其中包括6500万美元的30兆瓦现场初级发电厂。N.J.众议员比尔·帕斯克雷尔（Bill Pascrell（D）表示，FEMA已经为140万美元的项目提供了75％的资金，以恢复洪水中丢失的关键文件。
纽约州东洛克威（East Rockaway）的海湾公园治疗厂的洪水将1亿加仑未经处理的污水送入了长岛水道。它激发了环保主义者的努力，使现代化和防风雨设施现代化和防风雨设施。根据本地报告，该设施的一部分在风暴潮中占据了9英尺以上的盐水，其中一些过程仍在备用发电机上运行。县官员说，计划要求采用12亿美元的工厂升级和硬化措施，包括扩大大西洋排放量，但很大程度上取决于州和联邦资金。
New Jersey's Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) plans to allocate an estimated $2.6 billion for some 370 water and wastewater plant projects, mostly for resiliency upgrades, but Gov. Chris Christie (R) won't likely approve new funding streams for the billions more needed, says a report in NJ Spotlight, an online news outlet. Sequestration has already cut into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's $600-million post-Sandy funding for environmental infrastructure, mostly in the two states.
In April, Kevin F. Donnelly, assistant commissioner of the New York City DEP, told an American Society of Civil Engineers panel in Brooklyn, N.Y., that while the city "dodged a bullet" with minimal Sandy damage to its facilities, new long-term solutions will still be necessary and won't be cheap. "Ratepayers need to be convinced we need to take action," he said.
