When the Fairmount Water Works was built in the early 19th century to provide clean drinking water to Philadelphia, it was a feat of modern engineering. Steam engines and a dam across the Schuylkill River powered water wheels large enough to pump millions of gallons a day uphill to a reservoir atop nearby Fair Mount.
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Update: Would you like to weigh in on the EPA’s proposed dissolved oxygen standards in the Delaware River? The public can provide comments about the proposed regulation changes through the EPA website no later than February 20, 2024. By Meg McGuire and Katherine Rapin In December 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made a bold
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Update: On February 1, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a preliminary permit to York Energy Storage, LLC for the pumped hydroelectric storage project the company is proposing in York County. The preliminary permit gives York Energy Storage priority for building a project on the site (essentially calling dibs) and opens up a
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By Meg McGuire and Katherine Rapin In December 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made a bold move for the Delaware River, proposing to raise the water quality standards in the estuary for the first time since the Clean Water Act of 1972. This upgrade would increase requirements for dissolved oxygen levels among the foundational
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Skeptics of the green energy movement have always asked: What do you do when there’s no sun for the solar panels and no breeze to stir the blades of the windmill, but you still need power? Batteries can store excess energy created when the conditions are favorable to be used for precisely those times —
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It was September 1999 and Denise Statham didn’t know danger was lapping at her doorstep. Her employer had closed their office earlier that day and Statham was finishing some work on her laptop when the power went out. She decided to nap for a while and see if it came back on. At about 7
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Coverage courtesy of Delaware Currents. All in all, it was a good week for the Delaware River. Two significant developments point toward possible improvements in water quality in the urban section of the river — approximately from Philadelphia, Pa., to Wilmington, Del. Both hinge on the problem of ammonia pollution and related to that, the
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Everyone loves Green City, Clean Waters — at least in theory. Twelve years ago the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) rolled out the ambitious, 25-year plan meant to deal with our combined stormwater-sewer system. When it rains, stormwater that flows off of roofs and pavement tends to overwhelm the system, sending raw sewage into our rivers
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In the early 1700s, botanist John Bartram surveyed his farmland abutting the banks of the Schuylkill River in what is now Southwest Philadelphia and had an idea: build a garden for his beloved plants. Approaching its 300th anniversary, the modern Bartram’s Garden is a National Historic Site and a gem of Philadelphia’s park system. But
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Grid teamed up with the Chestnut Hill Local and Delaware Currents for our December feature about problems with the Philadelphia Water Department’s Green City, Clean Waters initiative. Carla Robinson, editor of the Chestnut Hill Local, wrote this note about the collaboration, and we’d like to share it with Grid readers. About a year and a
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Ahead of the April primary, Grid asked the mayoral candidates for their thoughts on the city’s major sustainability issues. We sent questions about municipal waste, sustainable development, parks and greenspaces, and bicycling infrastructure. Eight candidates responded by our deadline and we published their responses in a special voter’s guide issue. Now, two candidates remain: Republican
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