We've mentioned in previous blogs that we've got better priced water than our suburban friends. Our infrastructure has to stay ahead of the curve to keep it that way.  Photo- Randy Calderone.

Now that we’re into the New Year, most of our customers have probably gotten their first water bills of the year. As we explained at the beginning of the month, rate changes that were approved as a part of our public hearing process this summer and fall went into effect starting January 1st. While rate increases are always difficult, we don’t take them lightly and turn to them only to cover the costs of “big-ticket” items that occur in the process of providing the same clean, safe, reliable drinking water our ratepayers have come to depend on.

For the next few days, we’re going to outline some of these big-ticket items so we can be as transparent as possible about what our recent rate changes are going toward.

To start off... for all of those who have seen the newly released theatrical version of Les Misérables and were curious about the sewers through which Jean Valjean carries a wounded Marius Pontmercy, let us explain a little about Philadelphia’s sewer system which bears some striking resemblance to those of mid-1800s Paris.

Our combined sewer system sends wastewater from the home into the same pipes as storm water from the rain. While the generations before us were doing the best they could with the information and resources they had at the time, it turns out that connecting the pipes that come from our drains and toilets to the same tunnels that carry the storm water can bring some problems. As little as a tenth of an inch of rain is enough to overwhelm our sewage treatment plants and cause overflows of storm water and raw sewage to spill into our waterways. So PWD is solving this with our state-of-the-art and yet fiscally conservative $2 billion Green City Clean Waters Plan. This is as little as a quarter of what other cities have planned on spending to fix the same kind of problem, but it will still add to our costs over the next several years.

Our goal is to use green infrastructure to keep storm water from ever reaching the sewer system, directing it instead where it naturally wants to go: back into the ground. “Green” infrastructure refers to street trees or planters, as opposed to “gray” infrastructure like pipes. By the time all of the Green City, Clean Waters infrastructure improvements are put in place, Philadelphia will have the nation’s greenest, most innovative and naturalistic solution for storm water management. It’s an investment that will pay off for our children, grandchildren and beyond.

Check out our Green City, Clean Waters Year in Review 
to see how far we’ve come already and learn more about where we’re going.

Have you noticed Green City, Clean Waters projects in your neighborhood?
Share with us at our Facebook page!

In case you didn't hear, the Schuylkill River is a nominee for the 2013 River of the Year- an honor bestowed upon a Commonwealth river to elevate public awareness about that resource and recognize important conservation needs and achievements. The winning waterway undergoes a year of activities and events celebrating the river, including a special extended paddling trip known as a sojourn. These water-based journeys for canoeists, kayakers and others raise awareness of the environmental, recreational, tourism and heritage values of rivers.   The winning river will be selected by votes from the public, so don't forget to cast your vote today!!! Voting ends on January 18th.

The Schuylkill River flows through both rural and urban communities starting in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region and passing to the City of Philadelphia.  Over 1.5 million people receive their drinking water from the Schuylkill River and its tributaries. Improved water treatment systems, watershed education programs, and other cleanup measures have transformed the river from a dead river in the mid-1900s to a healthy habitat for a vast amount of fish and other wildlife. The Schuylkill River provides an ideal spot for recreation with its vast network of trails leading to the Schuylkill Banks greenway in the heart of Philadelphia.

Read more blog posts about fish improved fish habitat in the Schuylkill:
Fair Catch: Fishing on the Schuylkill
Upstream Battle: Shad Ascend Schuylkill Pas Phoenixville for First Time in Almost 200 Years
Northwest Passage: Fairmount Fish Ladder Helps Shad Swim Up the Schuylkill

To learn more about the contest and to cast your vote, just visit the website below.  Happy Voting!
Cast your vote here: http://pawatersheds.org/vote

This past June, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) announced that it had awarded $3.2 million in grants to facilitate the design and construction of innovative and sustainable stormwater management infrastructure on non-residential properties, such as business, non-profit and school properties. The success of the program has ushered in a second round of grants with a submission deadline of February 1, 2013.

The City of Philadelphia, through the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), created the Stormwater Management Incentives Program (SMIP) to  help reduce the volume of stormwater runoff entering the City's sewer system and to simultaneously help beautify communities. Stormwater management tools, such as green roofs, porous paving, rain gardens,stormwatertree trenches, and detention and retention basins reduce a property’s impervious surface, also resulting in lower monthly stormwater charges.

Our city is covered with large amounts of impervious cover— hard surfaces, such as concrete or asphalt, which prevent rainfall from soaking into the ground. When it rains, this stormwater runoff picks up chemicals and toxins from the impervious surfaces and enters our sewer system, where it can overflow into the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, our sources of drinking water.

Applications for the grant must be submitted electronically by February 1, 2013. Applicants will be notified by July 1, 2013 if their applications have been accepted. Those selected will be eligible to receive credits toward their stormwater charges when their stormwater project has been constructed.
For more information, check out our SMIP Grant page!