Join us to care for our very first rain garden at Germantown’s beautiful and historic Vernon Park. We’ll weed and pick up litter in the rain garden with our partner, Friends of Vernon Park. We work with FOVP to maintain this garden of native plants, which cleans and slows down runoff pollution before it enters
MoreIllustration by Lauren Rebbeck Victory Lap by Debra McCarty Despite its absolute necessity, clean water is something many take for granted. This was clear in the collective response to stories emerging from Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Summer Olympics about waters tainted by the unchecked flow of sewage and other pollution. Confronted by the
MorePhoto by Margo Reed A Tale of Two Rivers by Matt Bevilacqua When Alan Robinson saw the turtle, he knew things had changed. It was 1990, and Robinson had recently taken up race walking after turning 40. He was practicing for the Schuylkill River Loop, a popular 8.4-mile race that takes participants from Boathouse Row,
Moreby Alex Vuocolo Before taking part in the Philadelphia Water Department’s (PWD) new vocational training program, Ayanna Turner, 19, never thought much about stormwater and how it affected the city around her. “I just thought about the sewer, to be honest,” Turner said. “I didn’t know there were other ways you could save it
MoreDiving into a New Life by Marilyn Anthony Paul Johnson is an Aquarius who believes he has found his life’s work with water. A few years ago, Johnson, a 24-year old Strawberry Mansion resident, didn’t have promising prospects. An aimless year at community college, followed by a series of low-paying jobs in security, maintenance, fast food
MoreVenice Island's underground basin can temporarily store up to four million gallons of stormwater runoff. | Photos courtesy The Philadelphia Water Department
In the works for the better part of a decade, Venice Island opened in early October. The five-acre site is sandwiched between the Lock and Cotton Street bridges in Manayunk, and lies downhill of
While useful, the typical blue rain barrel isn’t exactly beautiful. So, when the Philadelphia Water Department donated five barrels to the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District this past April, the Mt. Airy Art Garage, a community art nonprofit, volunteered their creativity. Neighborhood artists were recruited and soon word spread, attracting more local artists—adults and kids—to
MoreWhen Philadelphia received a mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1997 to improve its combined sewer system, the initial solution wasn’t so great. The plan called for replacing old pipes, building more tunnels—using manmade constructions to better handle stormwater. Streets would be dug up, improvements would be made mostly underground and waterway restoration
MoreThe Philadelphia Water Department has partnered with Fairmount Park, PennFuture, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and local civic organizations on a new green initiative that manages stormwater while beautifying our city.
MoreIt’s all about runoff. When precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground, impervious surfaces like streets and sidewalks keep the water from naturally soaking in, creating stormwater runoff. This can be problematic on several levels. Runoff erodes rivers and streams, and causes flooding.
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