A rain garden manages stormwater at Liberty Lands Park, Northern Liberties.

During our last blog series we talked about how the rising costs of “big ticket items” are a large part of what’s driving PWD's rate adjustments. We should also explain that we aren’t proposing these adjustments without first doing everything we can to balance increasing costs with cuts to our expenses. 

Some of the most significant savings come from the Green City, Clean Waters plan. This is the City of Philadelphia's plan to meet requirements for reducing the overflow of sewage into the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers during rain storms. While other cities have been faced with costs as high as $8 billion for creating entirely new tunnels to separate storm water from waste water, PWD will spend about a quarter of that over the next several years on green infrastructure meant to keep much of the storm water from ever entering the system. The end result: fewer streets torn up for months to install new tunnels and more trees and other greenery throughout the city, providing cleaner air and water while reducing the urban “heat island” effect that cooks us each summer.

These are investments that will pay off down the road in lower maintenance costs, less strain on the current infrastructure and fewer gallons of water that need to be treated at our sewage treatment plants. This doesn’t even begin to capture the lower costs that will come from an overall healthier, cleaner environment when you factor in lower healthcare expenses and less need for massive clean-ups of our rivers and streams.

It’s a win-win… a less expensive way of enacting these mandated measures to clean up our stormwater process and lower costs down the line as we realize the benefits of these investments.

For more information about Green City, Clean Waters, check out the Year in Review to see how far we’ve come already and learn more about where we’re going.  For a highly technical analysis of the cost-savings from Green City, Clean Waters, view Section 9 of the plan which compares alternatives to the green infrastructure approach. 

Have you noticed Green City, Clean Waters projects in your neighborhood? Share them with us on our Facebook page.

Commercial sites like this one have many incentives to use GSI to help manage stormwater.

It looks like 2013 will be a big year for private financing of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI)! According to the Natural Resources Defense Council blog, the private sector will likely step up financing of GSI this year for three reasons: 1) increased interest in GSI by cities across the country, 2) recent severe weather patterns, and 3) the recommendations of the high-profile NY State 2100 Commission in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

In Philadelphia we have several opportunities to work with the private sector to leverage public investment in green stormwater infrastructure. The Philadelphia Water Department’s (PWD) parcel-based stormwater billing for commercial customers provides a financial incentive to manage stormwater on  properties through green infrastructure. In addition, non-residential property owners are eligible to apply for grants to help finance these improvements through PWD’s Stormwater Management Incentives Program. Finally, through the City’s stormwater regulations, new construction or renovations that disturb 15,000 square feet or more must manage the first inch of stormwater runoff on-site.

Visit the NRDC blog to read more about why the private sector has reasons to increase financial support for green stormwater infrastructure, and to get a sneak preview of their upcoming 2013 report on this topic.

Energy costs are on the rise at PWD facilities, just like they are for homeowners and individuals.

Let’s wrap up our blog posts about the big-ticket items that have made our rate changes necessary with a frank discussion about something that every household has been dealing with.

The cost of every input we use to clean the drinking water and treat the sewage and stormwater has increased significantly over the last several years. As energy costs continue to rise rapidly, so do the products and services we purchase.  The costs of chemicals and replacement equipment have risen faster than the rate of inflation. We at PWD understand that these are issues faced by all of our customers and that increasing rates in the context of all these other costs is not ideal. We are all ratepayers ourselves and feel the effects as well. Please know that we’re doing everything in our power to shield our customers from as many of PWD’s increased costs as possible.

Stay tuned for more information about the investments and expense-cutting measures we are doing to help us in this effort, and feel free to get in touch with us anytime on our Facebook page.