The Philadelphia Water Department would like to give a big shout out to all of the volunteers who helped plant a rain garden at Harper’s Hollow Park on Saturday, September 27. This successful planting was one of the Villanova University Day of Service projects. The annual Day of Service is a volunteer day that brings together nearly 5,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni who give their time and service throughout Greater Philadelphia. In addition to two Villanova University professors and 16 Villanova students, the planting was attended by members of Friends of Harper’s Hollow, people from the neighborhood and PWD employees that came together, got their hands dirty and installed nearly 100 plants.

The plants for the rain garden were graciously donated by Dr. Robert Traver, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership program, and his lab. Thirty-eight shrub species were planted, including red chokeberries, sweet pepperbushes, and shamrock inkberries, and 60 herbaceous plants were installed, including moonbeam tickseeds, magnus purple coneflowers, and white swan purple coneflowers.

It was a beautiful day and a hugely successful planting. Thanks once again to everyone who came together to get the all the plants in the ground.  We look forward to seeing the plants take root and grow into a mature rain garden. 

Aerial rendering of Venice Island

After years of hard work and collaboration between the
Philadelphia Water Department, Philadelphia Parks and Recreations, and the
Manayunk community, Venice Island will open to the public! Join us next week
on October 7, 2014 at 11:00 AM for the official opening and ribbon cutting
event to celebrate the completion of the Venice Island Performing Arts &
Recreation Center, the Philadelphia Water Department storage basin unit, and
green storm water infrastructure projects at the site. Guests will include Mayor
Michael Nutter, Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. Deputy Mayor for Community and
Environmental Resources Michael DiBerardinis, Water Commissioner Howard
Neukrug, and Chief Cultural Officer Helen Haynes. There will be musical
entertainment, tours of the green infrastructure projects, performances at the
Venice Island Performing Arts & Recreation Center, and outdoor,
site-specific art installations on display.

The Venice Island project is located between the Manayunk Canal
and the Schuylkill River, between the Lock and Cotton Street bridges in
Manayunk. The Philadelphia Water Department designed the project to include
tree trenches, a pump house with a green roof, and a subsurface basin that will
temporarily store diverted flow from the sanitary interceptor sewer during
intense rain storms. The basin capable of storing nearly four million gallons
of water–roughly 180 SEPTA buses–that are later pumped out and directed to
a treatment plant. The project not only protects and improves the health of the
Schuylkill River, but also includes a full-scale reconstruction of the
recreational facilities and community amenities, including a new
state-of-the-art recreation and performing arts facility, new athletic fields,
a children’s play area and spray park, and a new parking lot. Read more about this exciting project.

We hope to see you at the opening day!

Date: Tuesday, October 7th

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: 1 Cotton Street (in Manayunk), Philadelphia, PA 19127

The Philadelphia Water Department would like to give a big shout out to Osman Fofanah, a PowerCorpPHL alumnus who recently landed a job with AKRF (Allee King Rosen & Fleming), a prominent environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm.

Through PowerCorpPHL, Osman worked with PWD’s Office of Watersheds this past year with the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance team, assisting with tasks ranging from data entry to field work at project sites. Additionally, Osman was the Assistant Crew Leader for PowerCorpsPHL inaugural Green Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Crew from April 2014 through September 2014, making sure that PWD’s green infrastructure functioned properly and looked beautiful.

With AKRF, Osman will use the skills he learned at the Water Department for his new position as the Green Infrastructure Landscape Maintenance Technician. He will perform routine surface maintenance as well as planting and installing green stormwater infrastructure projects in Philadelphia and the surrounding region.

PowerCorpPHL, an AmeriCorps program that started in 2013, enrolls 100 individuals, ages 18 to 26 in a 9 month program with 6 months of full-time service as AmeriCorps members in city departments, and 3 months of intensive job placement support. The program is designed to address environmental stewardship initiatives as well as the City of Philadelphia’s youth workforce development and violence prevention priorities. Osman’s story is a testament to the success of the PowerCorpsPHL program and PWD is delighted to be involved as a partner with this program.

Osman, who was in the first PowerCorpPHL cohort, is a dedicated, self-motivated young man. Knowing what Osman brings to this position, it was not surprising to hear that he landed the job and there is no doubt he will find success in his new role. The Philadelphia Water Department wishes him all the best and sends him a hearty congratulations!