NOTICE: PhillyWatersheds.org has been archived.

The archive will be available at http://archive.phillywatersheds.org for approximately one year (through September 2020). If you use or are responsible for content here that is not yet available elsewhere, please contact the PWD Digital Team.

Darby-Cobbs Watershed

  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_argument::init() should be compatible with views_handler::init(&$view, $options) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_argument.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter::options_validate() should be compatible with views_handler::options_validate($form, &$form_state) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_filter.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter::options_submit() should be compatible with views_handler::options_submit($form, &$form_state) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/handlers/views_handler_filter.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_handler_filter_node_status::operator_form() should be compatible with views_handler_filter::operator_form(&$form, &$form_state) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/modules/node/views_handler_filter_node_status.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Non-static method view::load() should not be called statically in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/views.module on line 906.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_plugin_style_default::options() should be compatible with views_object::options() in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/plugins/views_plugin_style_default.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_plugin_row::options_validate() should be compatible with views_plugin::options_validate(&$form, &$form_state) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/plugins/views_plugin_row.inc on line 0.
  • strict warning: Declaration of views_plugin_row::options_submit() should be compatible with views_plugin::options_submit(&$form, &$form_state) in /jet/app/www/default/sites/all/modules/views/plugins/views_plugin_row.inc on line 0.

Sneak Peek: Cobbs Creek Oral History Project + Virtual Walking Tour

Come to the Cobbs Creek Library on Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. to learn about an oral history of the area.

Starting in 2015, the Philadelphia Water Department's Public Engagement team began recording conversations with members of the Cobbs Creek community.

The goal?

To better understand how people feel about Cobbs Creek—one of Philadelphia's seven major watersheds—and what they want to see for the neighborhood, the park, and the stream.

You can get a sneak peek of the project by visiting this site, and all are welcome to join us at an open house event being held at the Cobbs Creek branch of the Free Library on Monday, August 7 at 6:30 p.m.

In addition to a presentation about the oral history project, residents will get to explore a new virtual walking tour that uses a web-based "story map" to explore 17 new green stormwater tools coming to the Cobbs Creek Parkway. These systems will add new landscaping and amenities to the area while keeping millions of gallons of runoff and sewer overflow pollution out of the creek each year.

Refreshments will served: please RSVP here!

This event is being hosted by the Cobbs Creek Neighbors, a community group working to improve the neighborhood and enhance local green spaces, including the Darby-Cobbs Watershed.

Watershed Stewards PHL, a group of local high school students working with PWD and the Land Health Institute this summer to protect the Cobbs, will also be on hand to talk about their work so far.

West Philly Students: Work with PWD and Become One of Philly’s First Watershed Stewards This Summer

Want to become one of Philly's first Watershed Stewards? Contact Alisa at 267-571-5750 to request an application. The deadline to apply is this Friday, May 5th.
Want to become one of Philly's first Watershed Stewards? Contact Alisa at alisa@landhealthinstitute.org or 267-571-5750 to request an application. The deadline to apply is this Friday, May 5th

Having passion for a cause doesn’t always pay off. But this summer, it can.

If you have a love of the outdoors and an interest in becoming involved in your community, you can be one of the Philadelphia Water Department’s first Watershed Stewards.

We've partnered with the LandHealth Institute—a nonprofit organization providing environmental education and stewardship services to Philadelphia youth—to create the Philadelphia Watershed Stewards program. 

The deadline to apply is this Friday, May 5th.

Get Wild about Watersheds, Urban Greening and West Philly Nature

Dan Kobza of Wild West Philly takes residents on a nature walk highlighting wildlife and green infrastructure around Papa Playground in West Philadelphia. Join Philadelphia Water and Wild West Philly for special nature walk on June 25. Photo Credit: Joe Piette
Dan Kobza of Wild West Philly takes residents on a nature walk highlighting wildlife and green infrastructure around Papa Playground in West Philadelphia. Join Philadelphia Water and Wild West Philly for special nature walk on June 25. Photo Credit: Joe Piette

Philadelphia Water is all about helping people understand the ways in which our lives and communities are intimately connected to the local waterways that sustain us.

We know—living in a big city like Philadelphia, it can be easy to forget that we’re still a part of a natural world that includes waterways like the Cobbs Creek and Delaware River. Luckily, we have lots of residents who care about nature and want to learn more.

That’s why we’re teaming up with Naturalist Interpreter Dan Kobza of Wild West Philly (one of our watershed partnership groups) for a special walk on Saturday, June 25 at the historic Mt. Moriah Cemetery, much of which has been reclaimed by nature. (RSVP for this free event here.)

Meeting Alert: Find Out How Removing the Woodland Dam Will Boost Wildlife in the Cobbs

The Woodland Dam is currently preventing many species of fish from reaching the upper parts of Cobbs Creek. Philadelphia Water and the Army Corps are planning to remove it. Credit: Philadelphia Water.
The Woodland Dam is currently preventing many species of fish from reaching the upper parts of Cobbs Creek. Philadelphia Water and the Army Corps are planning to remove it. Credit: Philadelphia Water.

Residents are invited to join staff from Philadelphia Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Cobbs Creek Environmental Education Center tomorrow at 6 p.m. to learn about an exciting new project that will open up miles of the Cobbs to fish like the blueback herring, a historically important migratory species whose habitat has been limited by dams across the region.

The focus of the meeting will be the partial removal of the Woodland Dam, the first dam to block fish travelling up Darby-Cobbs Creek from the Delaware River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District and Philadelphia Water will have representatives on hand to answer any questions about the plan. (For those who cannot make it, the public is invited to comment on the proposal by May 9, 2016.)

Ambitious Proposal Could Mean Big Improvements for Morris Park, Local Water Quality

Philadelphia Water is looking for residents to provide feedback tonight on designs for a pretty impressive green infrastructure project at Papa Playground in Morris Park that aims to improve the area’s stormwater management and urban habitat while reducing combined sewer overflows that can spill polluted water into our rivers and streams:

The map above outlines some of the proposed improvements at Morris Park in Overbrook. Click for a larger image.
The map above outlines some of the proposed improvements at Morris Park in Overbrook. Click for a larger image.

The design for improvements that will be presented at Papa Rec Center tonight at 6:30 p.m. are for a project that disconnects several streets in the Overbrook neighborhood from the City’s combined sewer system, sending clean water to the adjacent park’s creek. As part of the Green City, Clean Waters program, this collaboration with the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation department and the Department of Public Property adds natural landscaping to the park while taking pressure off the combined sewer system.

Syndicate content