Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters

Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters
Name	Green City, Clean Waters
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Established	2011
Agency	Philadelphia Water Department
Program type	Urban green infrastructure and combined sewer overflow control
Area	City of Philadelphia
Budget	Multi-year capital program

Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters

Green City, Clean Waters is a multi-decade urban green infrastructure initiative in Philadelphia, initiated by the Philadelphia Water Department and enacted under municipal consent with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, designed to reduce combined sewer overflows and improve watershed quality. The plan integrates stormwater management with urban revitalization in neighborhoods such as Kensington, South Philadelphia, and Germantown, coordinating with agencies like the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and institutions including University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. It aligns with regulatory frameworks including the Clean Water Act and interacts with regional entities such as the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Schuylkill River Development Corporation.

Background and Goals

Green City, Clean Waters grew from historical challenges with the Philadelphia Water Department’s combined sewer system, aging infrastructure dating to the era of William Penn-era urban expansion and later 19th-century engineering by firms related to Alfred M. Craven and municipal improvements during the Progressive Era. The program’s primary goals are to meet obligations established in a 2011 consent order with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, reduce combined sewer overflow events into the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River, and advance equitable urban greening across neighborhoods like Kensington, Fishtown, West Philadelphia, and North Philadelphia. Secondary objectives include supporting climate resilience objectives articulated by the City of Philadelphia, enhancing public spaces adjacent to projects funded by the William Penn Foundation, and coordinating with research partners at Temple University and Rutgers University.

Program Components and Projects

The program deploys a portfolio of green infrastructure techniques—bioswales, rain gardens, permeable pavement, tree trenches, green roofs, and stormwater planters—implemented in coordination with capital works from the Philadelphia Water Department and municipal agencies including Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Department of Streets. Signature projects include the transformation of corridors in Rittenhouse Square-adjacent blocks, retrofits at Philadelphia International Airport-adjacent sites, and neighborhood-scale projects in Frankford and Haddington. Collaborations have included nonprofit partners such as PennPraxis, Philadelphia Water Center, The Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania program, and community development corporations like East Kensington Neighborhood Association and West Kensington CDC. The program also integrates gray infrastructure where necessary with projects like tunnel and storage concepts similar in purpose to initiatives in New York City and Washington, D.C..

Funding and Implementation

Financing combines municipal capital budgets administered by the Philadelphia Water Department, federal grants from agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, philanthropic support from the William Penn Foundation and the Knight Foundation, and investments by private entities such as regional utilities and developers tied to projects near Center City, Philadelphia. Implementation has employed contractors and design firms including regional engineering firms with experience on projects in Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago, and has leveraged workforce development programs in partnership with Philadelphia Works and local unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Cost-sharing mechanisms intersect with rate-setting decisions overseen by the Philadelphia City Council and informed by analyses from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.

Environmental and Public Health Impacts

Green City, Clean Waters targets reductions in pathogens and nutrients entering the Delaware Bay and supports aquatic habitat goals for species addressed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. By reducing stormwater runoff, the program aims to mitigate flood risk in flood-prone corridors near Tacony Creek and Poquessing Creek and to reduce pollutant loads that affect public health outcomes tracked by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and regional hospitals such as Penn Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Urban tree plantings coordinated with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and TreePhilly also contribute to heat island mitigation aligned with plans from the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and climate resilience frameworks referenced by the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.

Stakeholders and Governance

Governance centers on the Philadelphia Water Department in coordination with the Mayor of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia City Council, and oversight by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Community engagement involves neighborhood organizations including Mantua Civic Association, Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, and nonprofit stakeholders such as Philadelphia Horticultural Society. Academic partners including University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health contribute research, while funders like the William Penn Foundation and municipal finance teams negotiate capital allocation alongside regional planning bodies such as the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Outcomes

Monitoring relies on water quality monitoring networks operated by the Philadelphia Water Department and research collaborations with Temple University and the United States Geological Survey for streamflow and pollutant load assessment in the Schuylkill River and Delaware River. Evaluation metrics include reductions in combined sewer overflow volume, area of impervious surface treated, stormwater volume captured, and ecological indicators tracked by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Early outcomes reported by municipal and philanthropic partners indicate measurable reductions in runoff in pilot neighborhoods and ancillary benefits such as urban greening, increased property stewardship advocated by groups like Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and enhanced public realm improvements documented by Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

Category:Environment of Philadelphia