New York City has begun a $185 million project to modernize the Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility on Staten Island, upgrading critical equipment and strengthening flood protection at the facility, which serves approximately 200,000 residents.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the project during an event marking the opening of a time capsule sealed at the facility in 1976. The upgrades will modernize electrical distribution equipment, mechanical rooms, the control room, offices and locker rooms. Flood resilience improvements include reinforced walls, raised windowsills and deployable flood barriers.

The city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) plans to complete construction by summer 2029 using a design-build approach, which combines engineering and construction under one contract. The city expects the approach to deliver the project 40% faster than typical. The investment builds on $279 million in ongoing wastewater treatment upgrades at the facility.

Port Richmond began operating in 1953 and underwent a major expansion in the 1970s that increased treatment capacity from 15 million gallons per day to 60 million gallons per day.

The project continues the city’s broader wastewater infrastructure investments. DEP operates 14 wastewater resource recovery facilities that treat approximately 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater daily. The department reports that its facilities now capture 100% of sewage during dry weather, compared with 85% of sewage receiving treatment in the 1970s.