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"Philadelphia Green" Urban Greening & Stormwater Projects Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the Fall 2006 Building Better Report Philadelphia has a significant problem with sewage overflows, which means that the local sewer systems are overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain and untreated sewage overflows into the surrounding rivers and streams. At 165 locations around the city sewage routinely overflows into the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers and other waterways during rainstorms. (1) The Schulkill supplies drinking water to 1.5 million people in Philadelphia (2) and both are important centers of commerce and recreation in the region. Experts agree that the main contributor to the poor water quality of these rivers is stormwater runoff. Philadelphia Green: Cleaning Philadelphia's Stormwater Philadelphia Green - a program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the City of Philadelphia - has initiated projects across the city to clean up vacant lots, green the city and improve stormwater management. Teaming up with the Philadelphia Water Department in 2003, and with grant support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Growing Greener Program, Philadelphia Green has transformed five plots of land into models of good stormwater management by installing shallow trenches and berms that harness the rainfall and allow it to seep slowly into the ground over a 24- to 36-hour period. (3) "We hope to create a whole series of 'natural sponges' in the city that reconnect the urban land to the natural water cycle," said Gerry Abrams, an urban watershed planner at the Philadelphia Water Department. (4) These natural sponges help reduce the volume of water contributing to sewer overflows and purify the water before it reaches the rivers. Greening Schools, Reducing Impervious Surface In 2005, Philadelphia Green, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), started work on a project with seven Philadelphia schools to address stormwater runoff, while promoting environmental education. (5) At S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School, one of the seven schools participating in the project, children created a raised bed vegetable garden in a paved parking lot, which will help to reduce the "heat island effect" and absorb stormwater instead of contributing to runoff. Mitchell Elementary is also slated for a stormwater retrofit project by Philadelphia Green and the PWD in the near future, which calls for the addition of vegetation, infiltration trenches, bio-swales and a rain garden on the 3-acre impervious site. (6) According to the designers of the plan, "The stormwater management and planting plan at the Mitchell school is designed to capture a significant portion of this [stormwater] volume by mitigating runoff generated by all storms less than or equal to the one inch rainfall." (7) A Greener Future Philadelphia, like many older American cities, faces severe stormwater challenges due to its massive combined sewer system and the large, paved surface area of the metropolitan area. But Philadelphia is making strides toward a greener city and cleaner water since the city and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society have teamed up to take on the problem. With more projects on the horizon to green vacant lots and school grounds, Philadelphia Green continues to make strides to improve water quality in and around Philadelphia. Footnotes: Joanne Dahme E-mail to Eric Olson, May 31, 2006. Philadelphia Water Department, Office of Watersheds, and The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. "The Schuylkill River Watershed Initiative." 2004. When it Rains, it Pours: Understanding the Importance of Stormwater Runoff. Strategy for a Green City. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Winter 2006. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Annual Report, 2005. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Annual Report, 2005. Leon, Amanda; Leib, Amy; and McDaniels, Susan. "Design of an Urban Stormwater Retrofit and Greening Plan at the S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School in West Philadelphia." 2005. Ibid. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club