Commissioner Debra A. McCarty helps a West Philly Student put on a new button at 2016 rain garden ribbon cutting event. She became the first woman to lead the department. Credit: Brian Rademaekers
Newly-elected Mayor Jim Kenney rang in 2016 in a big way by naming Debra A. McCarty Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner, making her the first woman to lead the organization in its nearly 200-year history.
That big announcement, it seems, set the tone for PWD in 2016.
It was a busy year, with lots of exciting news—big and small—for Philly’s water community, and we recently took some time to look back at all the great things happening here.
We made major investments in our infrastructure. We marked important milestones with partners and residents. We revived superheroes, and we collaborated with science-savvy brewers…
It was such a big year at PWD, we’re presenting our 2016 highlights in not one blog post, but three!
(See Part II)
Without further ado, here is the first installment of our three-part series exploring highlights from the last year, presented in no particular order: