Philly Recieves Approval for Green Infrastructure Plan

3 06 2011

Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters Plan ,submitted to the EPA last September, has been signed by the PA Department of the Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). According to PDW’s press release, it happened on June 1st. The approval of the plan is a big step in furthering green infrastructure’s legitimacy as a tool to address stormwater issues. The following are links to past post about the plan:

Triple Bottom Line of Green Infrastructure

Philadelphia Green Infrastructure Video

-Brian Phelps


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Categories : Plans and studies, Sustainable Site Strategies

Philadelphia Green Infrastructure Video

7 09 2010

I recently came across this video covering Philadelphia’s Green Infrastructure Efforts. It was created by GreenTreks, an award-winning Philadelphia-based non profit communications organization dedicated to educating people about the interconnectedness of environmental, societal, economic, and individual health. For more information and links to other resources on Philadelphia’s triple bottom line green infrastructure strategy  see our past post  Triple Bottom Line of Green Infrastructure.

–Brian Phelps


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Categories : Green Street, Parks & Open Space, Pervious Pavement, Plans and studies, Sustainable Site Strategies

EPA’s Green Infrastructure Statement of Intent

28 12 2009


Structured Rain Garden at
Tennessee Association of Realtors, Nashville, TN

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Statement of Intent that recognized the viability of green infrastructure as a legitimate and effective tool that can be used to protect our water sources from non-point source pollutants. The statement was signed by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Natural Resources Defense Council, Low Impact Development Center, and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators. The objectives of the statement included the following (direct excerpt from Statement of Intent):

  • Affirm the belief by the signatory organizations in the value of green infrastructure as both a cost effective and an environmentally preferable approach to reduce stormwater and other excess flows entering combined or separate sewer systems in combination with, or in lieu of, centralized hard infrastructure solutions
  • Establish a framework for working together to advance an understanding of green infrastructure as a tool for reducing overflows from sewer systems and stormwater
  • Identify partnership opportunities between the signatory organizations
  • Develop strategies to promote the use of green infrastructure by cities and utilities as an effective and feasible means of reducing stormwater pollution and sewer overflows such as:

-Developing models for all components of green infrastructure and make them available nationwide.

-Exploring opportunities and incentives for the use of green infrastructure provisions in MS4 permits and CSO Long Term Control Plans (LTCPs), including as a component of injunctive relief provisions of enforcement actions

-Developing memoranda and guidance materials, including language for the NPDES permit writer’s manual, that would explain how regulatory and enforcement officials should evaluate and provide appropriate credit for the use of green infrastructure in meeting Clean Water Act requirements

-Recognizing the most effective and innovative uses of green infrastructure to meet Clean Water Act goals through EPA awards or recognition programs

-Providing technical assistance, training, and outreach to potential users of green infrastructure, including states, cities, counties, utilities, environmental and public health agencies, engineers, architects, landscape architects, planners and nongovernmental organizations

-Establishing a web-based green infrastructure resource center at EPA to assist communities in complying with requirements for combined sewer overflows and municipal stormwater permits and evaluating the multiple environmental benefits that green infrastructure can provide

-Developing tools to assist local green infrastructure programs with outreach, training, model development and application, planning and design, monitoring, and plan review

It has been almost three years since this statement was released. In that time, we have come a long way. There has been a tremendous increase in attention to green infrastructure within municipalitie’s overflow control plans and integration of best management practices into city stormwater manuals. We have gone from having to convince municipalities to employ green infrastructure practices, to being encouraged to use them by the same agencies. With Philadelphia proposing an all green infrastructure solution to the EPA for addressing the city’s overflow plan, it will be interesting to see how the EPA responds.

A recent New York Times’ article, “City’s ‘All Green’ Stormwater Plan Raises Eyebrows at EPA” underscored the unique approach the City of Philadelphia is taking. I thought Howard Neukrug summed it up well. He was quoted as saying:

“We recognized that if we manage stormwater where it lands, whether on the ground or on a roof, that in very many circumstances we can not only prevent that gallon of water from overflowing, but we may be able to find additional benefits for our customers…Things that impact the urban heat island effect, things that improve the aesthetic of a community.”

As we enter this new decade, we can be assured that green infrastructure will increasingly be a part of the solution.

-Brian Phelps


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Categories : Sustainable Site Strategies

Liquid Assets: A Review

7 12 2009

Trailer for Liquid Assets (Click Here if you don’t see it above)

Last week I ordered a copy of Liquid Assets from the WPSU media store and had a chance to watch it over the weekend. The documentary debuted Fall 2008 on public television stations across the country. It provides an informative overview of the issues facing our Nation’s water infrastructure and the need to address it. Through a series of interviews and helpful computer animations, the video examines the infrastructure for our drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater, primarily concentrating on the public health and economic development issues. The documentary is a sobering look at the great need to maintain or replace our aging water systems. It was able to capture the magnitude of the problems while offering hope by showing how cities are addressing the problem. Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., New York City, Pittsburgh, Herminie,PA, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Atlanta are profiled.

The audience for the documentary is not design and engineering professionals who are steeped in these issues and have a firm grasp on them. The video is intended for a general audience that may not have a thorough understanding of water issues. My seven year old daughter sat with me to watch it and surprisingly she lasted over an hour before getting bored. She seemed to take a lot of way from the portions she did watch. Some of the basics the video teaches people is what watersheds are, how we get our water, and what a combined sewer overflow is. As an entertaining tool for bringing the general public up to speed with the issues, the documentary is excellent. A complementary community outreach toolkit is provided on-line. This toolkit provides information on how to conduct public workshops in your city and facilitate discussions about water issues. In addition, the documentary is broken into chapters that address specific topics, allowing for groups to tailor it to specific needs within their community. However, I would highly recommended watching the entire 86 minutes. In context of the whole, the chapters are much stronger.

My only major disappointment was that green infrastructure was not addressed to any great depth. The Pittsburgh segment touched on it. The work of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association was highlighted and concentrated on the Nine Mile Run Restoration. During this segment, there was some mention about street planting and rain barrels. Liquid Assets does however illustrate the issues green infrastructure can address within these troubled systems. This includes combined sewer overflows, protection of water sources, and non-point source water pollution.

Overall the video is a high quality documentary that can spur great discussions about the past, present, and future of our water system.

-Brian Phelps


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Triple Bottom Line of Green Infrastructure

18 11 2009

Before and After of Green Infrastructure Improvements
(Source:“Green Cities Clean Waters” Plan)

In an earlier post titled “Making Green Infrastructure Common Place” we discussed the recent release of Philadelphia’s $1.6 billion dollar “Green Cities Clean Waters” Plan. Its thrust is to transform over 4,000 acres of impervious areas within the City’s Combined Sewer System to green space over the next 20 years through the use of green infrastructure strategies. This would involve converting over 34% of all existing impervious areas. Of this, the conversion will primarily be made on public property and right-of-ways. Green streets, the most widely used management tool, will comprise nearly 38% of these improvements (see graphic). The report claims this is “the largest green stormwater infrastructure program ever envisioned in this country”. While green infrastructure has been utilized and proven in many parts of the country, the sheer magnitude and commitment of the city is a radical departure from the conventional approach to stormwater management practices.

Map of Green Street Locations
(Source:“Green Cities Clean Waters” Plan)

So why did Philadelphia decide to rely so heavily on green infrastructure as a means of reducing overflows in their CSO system? Quite simply it was cheaper, significantly cheaper. The plan estimates over the next 20 years the plan is to be implemented, the “triple bottom line” benefits (social, environments, economic) of the plan alone will add up to a present value of $2.2 billion dollars. The following is a breakdown of the benefits that comprise this figure.

  • Heat Stress Mortality Reduction (35%)
  • Recreation (22%)
  • Property Value Added (18%)
  • Water Quality and Habitat (14.5%)
  • Air Quality (4.6%)
  • Avoided Social Costs from Green Jobs (3.7%)
  • Energy Savings (1.0%)
  • Carbon Footprint Reduction (0.6%)
  • Reduction in Construction- Related Disruptions (0.2%)

So instead of employing conventional underground infrastructure that is one-dimensional, and is estimated to cost $16 billion, the city has decided that implementing a multi-dimensional strategy with multiple benefits made more sense. But not only is it more desirable, it is politically easier to implement because it makes the city a more beautiful and healthy place. So if you are going to have to spend the money anyway, why not make it count.

The shortcomings of the conventional “tanks and tunnels” approach were not only that it exceeded the EPA’s affordability standard for stormwater management (2% of median household income), but it also did not address water quality issues and could require green infrastructure tools anyway to meet these requirements. In addition, the report points out that the conventional solution isn’t aligned with the EPA’s broader goals of sustainability, reduces streams baseflow thereby damaging the resources that is designed to protect, and doesn’t offer any secondary triple bottom line benefits. Furthermore, since the conventional solution is not delivered incrementally it is not flexible and does not offer any benefits immediately.

Green infrastructure on the other hand offered the city the opportunity to revitalize and restore the city’s streams and rivers, enhance the quality of the built environment throughout the city, improve air quality, reduce the heat island effect, and sequester carbon. While accumulating these benefits, the approach was more flexible, offered immediate benefits, and, most importantly, the cost of implementation was offset by the dollar value of the benefits. (see Volume 2: Triple Bottom Line Analysis of the plan for specifics)

While conventional infrastructure has its place, the combination of the two can play a significant role in addressing many of the issues facing our cities. It is critical that we continue to move toward making these strategies common place. By doing so we can make our cities healthier and more beautiful for all of us to enjoy, while at the same time responsibly managing our stormwater.

-Brian Phelps


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Categories : Bioretention, Green roof, Green Street, Pervious Pavement, Sustainable Site Strategies

Making Green Infrastructure Common Place

6 11 2009

Philly_Green_City1

Getting more for less is an approach almost everyone can appreciate. Why wouldn’t you want to get the most out of your investments? Appropriately applying green infrastructure in ways that effectively addresses critical stormwater issues while creating a more beautiful and economically vibrant community is common sense. Unfortunately, it isn’t common place. As the use of the available sustainable site tools and technologies continues to grow, it may not be long before green infrastructure is the conventional approach to stormwater management.

With the Release of their “Green Cities Clean Waters Plan”, Philadelphia joins a handful of cities across the Country that have committed to green infrastructure and seek to institutionalizing it throughout the city. Philadelphia’s plan published last September sets forth a bold plan to invest $1.6 billion. Of this total 62% ($1 billion) of it will allocated directly to green stormwater infrastructure. Another 18% ($290M) will directed to stream corridor restoration and preservation and 20%($320M) will address wet weather treatment plant upgrades.

Over the next few weeks we will take a closer look at Philadelphia’s plan. At over 3,000 pages, there is a lot of information to sift through. In addition, we will also look at Pennsylvania Environmental Council released a report titled “Implementing Green Infrastructure: Developing a Winning Strategy to Fund Philadelphia’s Ambitious Plan” that looks at the economic benefits of the plan and how other cities across the country are funding their stormwater initiatives. Together they are an impressive step forward for the City of Philadelphia and the Nation.

-Brian Phelps


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Categories : Plans and studies, Sustainable Site Strategies, Uncategorized