July 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 46

P H I L A D E L P H I A PA R K S

is dumped directly into the city's rivers
and streams. Philadelphia, like other
cities with combined sewer systems, is
required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Clean
Water Act to remedy this situation.
As the lead city agency responsible
for meeting Clean Water Act permit
requirements, PWD has begun to implement a first-of-its-kind approach
to address combined sewer overflows
primarily through green stormwater
infrastructure (GSI). Through GCCW,
Philadelphia has committed to spending approximately $2.4 billion over the
next 25 years to mitigate combined
sewer overflows by capturing stormwater from more than one-third of the
city's impervious surfaces through a variety of green and traditional methods.

GSI comprises a range of soil-water-plant systems that intercept stormwater, infiltrate a portion of it into the
ground, evaporate a portion of it into
the air, and in some cases slowly release a portion of it back into the sewer system. By capturing stormwater
close to where it lands, GSI keeps runoff out of underground sewer pipes,
thereby ensuring polluted water does
not end up in creeks and rivers. GSI
is a departure from the conventional
approach of expensive gray infrastructure, or centralized single-purpose infrastructure that treats stormwater as
a waste product. Enormous tanks and
deep tunnels temporarily store the
combined rainwater and sewage until
the storm passes. The combined sewage is then transported back into the

city's sewer system to be treated at a
wastewater plant.
In addition to reducing combined
sewer overflows and pollution to
achieve regulatory compliance, Philadelphia's long-term goal is to provide triple-bottom-line benefits.
" There is real value in implementing
GSI solutions when communities can
see immediate results and share the
multitude of benefits they bring, " says
PWD Commissioner Howard Neukrug. " In addition to providing ecological services by managing rainfall, the
plan is also about revitalizing our city,
neighborhood by neighborhood. "
Only two years into the plan, the
city is already beginning to reap environmental benefits such as enhanced
air quality, social benefits such as increased recreational opportunities and
economic benefits such as new job creation. Since the program's inception,
PWD and its partners have constructed or are in the process of designing
and constructing 172 stormwater tree
trenches, 25 stormwater bumpouts, 48
rain gardens, 50 porous paving sites
and 132 other GSI projects.
A major goal of the program
is to leverage PWD's investments
through a variety of public and private partnerships to maximize program benefits. PWD has employed
creative strategies to work with other city agencies such as PPR.
" The partnership between PWD
and PPR marks a new level of inter-agency cooperation, " says Deputy
Mayor and PPR Commissioner Mike
DiBerardinis. " Investing in stormwaThe Saylor Grove wetland is a highly
visible urban green stormwater
infrastructure retrofit.

Parks & Recreation

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July 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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