Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

FloodNet NYC is a collaboration between the City University of New York (CUNY), New York University (NYU) and NYC government agencies. In 2022, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) funded FloodNet NYC to install up to 500 flood sensors across New York City (NYC) by the end of June 2027. To meet this goal, FloodNet developed and continued to refine a flood sensor placement methodology to ensure the usefulness of sensor data for flood response, preparedness, mitigation, and overall resilience. Members of the FloodNet team from both technical and community-facing aspects of the project worked together to develop the methodology. At the center of this process was a dataset of suggested sensor locations that FloodNet collected from three primary stakeholder groups - NYC residents, city agencies, and researchers - offering new insights about how the city experiences and understands urban flooding. The methodology filters this robust, participatory sensor suggestions dataset through topographic analysis and physical installation constraints to determine locations for flood sensors across NYC. The methodology comprises four steps: 1) Site Identification - Developing & Disseminating the FloodNet Sensor Suggestion Form; 2) Site Analysis - Processing the sensor suggestions dataset; 3) Site Scouting - Evaluating suitability for sensor installation; and 4) Site Verification - Confirming findings and installing a sensor.

Comments

This report is a product of FloodNet NYC—a cross-sector collaboration launched in 2020 among researchers at the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay and the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York, New York University's Tandon School of Engineering, New York Sea Grant, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ), NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and NYC Office of Technology & Innovation (OTI). The goal of FloodNet is to develop and implement real-time urban flood monitoring tools, making flood data and community-driven resources accessible and actionable for residents, community-based organizations, government agencies, and researchers.

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