Picasso's Blue Period was OK, we suppose, but we think green will be the color of choice for up-and-coming Philadelphia artists for the next 25 years or so. That's the duration of the Philadelphia Water Department's Green City, Clean Waters plan, the inspiration for a new art contest open to Philly students grades K-12. Students can submit a drawing, short video or both, portraying the ways in which we can protect our local waterways through environmentally friendly practices. The deadline for entries is February 24; prizes include gift cards, art supplies, certificates and calendars. Our friends at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary are administering the contest; visit their site for more information and guidelines.

Photo: Joseph G. Brin

Highly recommended reading: "Designing Water," an article that appeared last week in Metropolis magazine. The piece by Joseph G. Brin ties together Philadelphia's legacy as one of the first cities in the nation to provide large-scale drinking water facilities (via the Fairmount Water Works, back when PWD was called the Watering Committee) with the current Green City, Clean Waters plan to manage stormwater through green infrastructure. Brin focuses on how Philadelphia is once again thinking of long-term, innovative solutions to urban water problems:

"In 1967, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman in the The Graduate) was told the key to his young future lay in one word,'Plastics.'

In 2012, Howard Neukrug, PE, Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), would probably tell you it’s 'Stormwater Management' or the equivalent, equally sexy 'Demand Reduction.' But you have to appreciate he’s taking the city in a specific direction that has as much to do with the values we live by as it does about the diameter of stormwater piping and green infrastructure strategies that are all part of his overall, guiding vision."

The Philadelphia Water Department is working with Itron, a company that specializes in automatic meter readers, to upgrade water meters citywide over the next two years. Representatives from Itron will be visiting each neighborhood in the city to perform the free upgrade. The process takes less than 30 minutes and is mandatory—failure to upgrade your meter will result in an interruption of water service. Help us complete this upgrade: Allow the Itron representative into your home (he or she will be driving a vehicle and wearing a uniform with Itron and PWD insignia, and will also have an Itron and PWD identification badge). If you are not home during their visit, you may schedule an appointment.

Click here for more information on the upgrade and scheduling information.

Earlier this month, Harvard's Graduate School of Design hosted "The Philadelphia Story: Planning, Politics and Reality," a panel discussion led by Loeb fellow and Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron. The Philadelphia Water Department's Glen Abrams, Manager of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, joined Mayor Michael Nutter and others to examine Philadelphia's planning achievements and challenges in recent years. Among the positive developments highlighted were, of course, the Green City, Clean Waters plan to manage stormwater runoff. Saffron wrote in a blog post:

"So many plans have been produced in the last four years that it’s sometimes hard to understand how they fit together. So it was a revelation when Glen Abrams produced a single slide that explained the relationships. It depicted the reports as planets revolving around – what else? – the city's ambitious Greenworks sustainability plan. Together with Parks and Rec, the department also developed another plan, Green2015, to create a green park in every neighborhood – 500 acres all told. Along with greening streets and other hard surfaces, it will help the city to avoid spending $10 billion on a network of pipes, which would be a lot money down the drain."

For another perspective on the panel discussion read Ashley Hahn's post on PlanPhilly's Eyes On The Street blog.