A new report has revealed that a New York City Department of Environmental Protection worker received more than $500,000 in pay in one year — almost half of which was overtime money.

The Empire Center think tank released a report stating that DEP stationary engineer Bhavesh Patel was paid $539,098.32 during the 2018 fiscal year, which was said to have ended on June 30.

The more than half-a-million dollar paycheck was said to have broken down as $234,407.25 for his regular salary, $237,389.73 as overtime, plus an additional $67,301.34 for what was categorized by the city as 'other pay,' including differentials, according to the New York Daily News.

A new report revealed that a New York City DEP stationary engineer received more than $539,000 in pay during the 2018 fiscal year, half of which was overtime pay (stock image)

Patel, of Staten Island, is said to have worked 2,086 hours during the fiscal year — equivalent to the average number of hours in a typical five-day, 9-to-5 work week — on top of which he apparently worked 1,992 overtime hours, the city confirmed to the New York Post.

The overtime hours are said to be equivalent of 81 days worth of overtime.

Patel was among five DEP stationary engineers who ranked on the Top 10 overtime recipient list this year.

Nine years of back pay stemming from a newly-settled contract following a 10-year dispute with workers who had been working without a new contract since 2007 was said to have accounted for the overtime amounts.

The DEP noted to the Daily News that DEP employees are given double-time and more while pulling overtime on holiday shifts, too.

Patel is said to be one of 207 stationary engineers working for the NYC DEP.

Of the 207 stationary engineers, the report revealed, 37 of them raked in at least $100,000 during the 2018 fiscal year and 99 of them had more than 400 hours of overtime listed.

A DEP spokesperson told The Post that staff shortages were to blame for the outsized number of overtime hours being reported by the stationary engineering department.

While the DEP is apparently working towards eliminating such staffing shortages, the spokesperson pointed out that stationary engineers require 'an extraordinarily high skill set,' as they need to have both a state operator license and proficient with high-voltage equipment.

The DEP said that staff shortages were partially to blame for the enormous number of overtime hours collected by employees, while noting they're paid double time and then some for working overtime on holidays

The spokesperson pointed out that the city's sewers and wastewater treatment plants are a 24 hour a day operation dealing with more than 1billion gallons of wastewater 'and these engineers protect public health by ensuring it all flows in the right direction.'

So far this year, the DEP has managed to hire 31 new senior engineers to work at the treatment plant, according to the Daily News.

The DEP wasn't the only city agency to have had to pay out high amounts of overtime to employees, however.

City agencies and the New York City Housing Authority paid out $1.89million in overtime for more than 33million hours of overtime during the recent fiscal year.

A spokesperson from the Mayor's office told the Daily News that city employees do need overtime from time to time 'to deal with unplanned events or to handle urgent operational needs.'

The Empire Center report also found that the highest paid county and municiple employee during the fiscal year was Thomas J. Cokeley, a police officer for the town of Ramapo, New York. He received $323,562 in pay.

Police department employees were said to be the Top 15 county and municipal earners.