The document summarizes the evolution of stormwater management in Philadelphia from focusing on drainage and flood control to expanding its role in environmental stewardship. It discusses trends in other major cities and a new paradigm of using green infrastructure and watershed-based approaches to improve water quality and restore habitat. The document recommends municipalities examine expanding their roles in private development regulation, source control, restoration, and using impervious area-based management to meet regulatory requirements in a more sustainable way.

1. Christopher S. Crockett, Ph.D., P.E.
Director – Planning & Research
Philadelphia Water Department
Philadelphia, USA

2. Overview
 Evolution of Stormwater Management Roles In
Philadelphia
 Evaluation of Changing Approaches Nationally
 Future Trends in Municipal Stormwater Roles
 Conclusions & Recommendations

3. Philadelphia’s Regional Watersheds
 Philly is 130 mi2(35 mi2 Parkland)
 About 60% combined, 40% separate sewers
 164 CSO outfalls that discharge to 5 waterbodies
 Largest CSO discharges approx 1.7 BG/year
 Total volume of CSO is approx 14 BG/year
 434 separate stormwater outfalls discharge approx. 11
BG/year
 7 watersheds (5 CSO) whose area > 400 mi2
 3 WWTPs will an average combined daily flow of 500
MG/day

4. Tributaries were buried and sewers were built.
Historic
Creeks

5. Tributaries were buried and sewers were built.
Present Day

6. 20th Century Approach
Collect it and pipe it away
quickly!

8. Impaired Streams in Philadelphia

9. Evolution of Stormwater In Philadelphia
 1800s - Collection system encapsulated historical streams to
protect public health from disease
 1900s – System built to improve drainage for development of
lands
 1950s – System enhanced to reduce flooding
 1968 – Started billing customers for stormwater based on
meter size
 1970s – Initial ordinances and Clean Water Act efforts
 1978 – PA ACT 167 Stormwater Management Law

10. Evolution of Stormwater In Philadelphia
 1990s – First Phase I MS4 permit, CSO Program,
Defective Lateral Program
 1996 – First City wide Stormwater Ordinance for Flood
Control
 2000+ - Office of Watersheds, Upgraded
Regulations/Ordinances, Parcel based billing

11. City of Philadelphia –
Expanding Its Role in Environmental Stewardship
 Creating an ecologically sustainable city
 Reconnecting the City with Its waterways
 Focusing on redevelopment, not greenfield development
 Preserving & Restoring the urban forest and street tree canopy
 Daylight / restore streams, provide for fish passage
 Restore and Stabilize stream channels, banks, & riparian corridors
 Restore and create wetlands

12. Clean Water … Green City
• Unite the City with its water
environment
• Create a green legacy for future
generations
• Incorporate a balance between
ecology, economics and equity
• New 21st Century Approach

13. The Evolving Municipal Role In
Stormwater Management
 Protect & Steward – water resources
 Regulate – private development
 Educate – public and officials
 Demonstrate – new approaches and technologies
 Operate – levels of service and extent of service
 Evaluate & Assess – infrastructure & programs
 Plan – infrastructure replacement
 Administer – programs and permits of above

14. Municipal Stormwater Crossroads
 Build massive infrastructure
 Meet percent removal/discharge reduction
requirements
 Achieve water quality standards
 BUT ……….
 Streambanks are eroded
 Habitat is missing
 Aquatic life is impaired
 Natural resource is not meaningfully improved

15. A New Paradigm for Urban Areas
 Old urban areas can reduce their effective impervious
cover and recover habitat and aquatic life through a
watershed & green infrastructure approach
 Implement approaches that mimic nature
 A dollar spent on stormwater/CSOs should be dollar that
improves the natural resource and enhance the
community (economic development)
 Does the current business model need to change to meet
the new roles for municipalities?

16. Urban Areas Taking New Approaches
 Portland – Green infrastructure & incentives
 Seattle – Green infrastructure & incentives
 Chicago – Green alleys, green roof goals
 Philadelphia – Watershed approach, development
regulation, parcel based billing, green infrastructure
 Wilmington (DE) – parcel based billing
 Kansas City – 10,000 rain gardens

17. Similarities In Approach
 Source control of all stormwater on public and private lands
is a key role in all programs
 Piloting green infrastructure
 The approach to source controls differs and varies including:
 financial incentives (billing or purchases)
 regulation (voluntary or involuntary, stringency, and level of
enforcement)
 depth of community integration (inclusion in all city codes)
 All included extensive integrated stakeholder involvement
 Extent of activity depends upon political officials and
community acceptance or desire for new roles

18. Various Management Targets For A Municipality
 Target A – Dry Weather Water Quality and
Aesthetics
 Streams need to look good, be accessible, and become an
amenity to the community
 Stream water quality during dry weather (about 60-65% of the
time) should improve
 Target B – Healthy Living Resources
 Focus on improved aquatic habitat and healthy fish populations
 Stream restoration (bank, channel, riparian)
 Fish passage (fish ladders, dam modification)
 Target C – Wet Weather Water Quality and
Quantity
 Meet overflow criteria
 Prevent streambank erosion
 Meet water quality standards

19. Adaptive Watershed-Based Control Planning &
Management
River Conservation Plans Hydrologic & Outfall Monitoring
Watershed Information Water Quality Sampling & Monitoring
Center
Biological Monitoring
Integrated Water Use Status
Habitat Assessments
Networks
Watershed Fluvial Geomorphologic (FGM)
Interpretive Signage Monitoring &
Stakeholder Assessments
Assessment
Interpretive Centers Process &
Tidal Assessments
Partnerships
Infrastructure Assessments
Successful
Watershed
Wetlands Assessments
Control
Program
Alternative
Integrated Watershed
Evaluation &
Management Plans
Prioritization
Basin Specific Stormwater
Management Plans (Act 167)
Sewerage Facility Planning
CSO Long Term Control Plan
Ordinance & Regulations
Modifications

20. Drivers Behind The New Approach
 Regulatory compliance and flooding is a major driver
 Protection of a key natural resource is a less common driver
 Habitat and aquatic life restoration is not always a key role
for a municipality
 Funding limitations – need for new sources of funding to
meet new roles
 Concerns about sustainability, global climate change, carbon
footprint (i.e. the triple bottom line)

21. Critical Elements For Municipalities
Considering New Roles
 Communication with stakeholders
 Education and support of public officials
 Education and support of public
 Changing the institutional and administrative
processes of a municipality (policies, codes, etc.)
 Examining new levels and extents of service
 Evaluating new business and financial models

22. www.phillyrivercast.org
Real-Time Water Quality Forecast

23. Stormwater Plan Review Created The Potential To
Reduce The City’s Runoff by 1 Billion Gallons Annually
• That’s a volume equal
to the block of City
Hall 370 feet Deep.
(drawn to scale)
• A 3% reduction in
citywide runoff
• Up to $425 Million in
infrastructure capital
costs saved
• Up to $80 Million in
additional future
operation and
maintenance costs
saved

24. STE
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Parcel Based Billing
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6800 ESSINGTON
7000 ESSINGTON
Existing Charge = $ 377.23
Gross Area = 599,744
Top 500 Parcels
in the Combined New Charge = $ 2,496.42
Imperv Area = 491,035
Sewered Area
make up 12.3% Typical property with increased
of total stormwater fee – large site, small meter
impervious area
!
(

25. New Trends In Roles & Drivers
Downstream
End of Pipe Restoration
Source Controls
Numerical Habitat TMDLs
Cost/Sustainability
TMDLs
Stream restoration
Private
Treatment
development
Fish passage
regulation
Channel protection
Public land controls
Baseflow recharge
Parcel based billing

26. Conclusions
 Meeting water quality standard requirements will drive
municipalities to consider new and widely varying roles in
stormwater management
 No longer can employ the “end of pipe” approach to stormwater
management
 Programs are moving towards roles in source control and to
address environmental restoration
 Everything is moving towards impervious cover based
management
 Most “advanced” programs today took 5 to 10 years to gain
momentum and institutionalize
 Integration of extensive stakeholder involvement and outreach
into stormwater programs will become the norm

27. Recommendations
 Examine which approach has the greatest overall benefit
(triple bottom line) to your municipality in the long run
 Identify key barriers
(financial, political, social, institutional) to any new roles
or approaches
 Be patient and expect 5 to 10 years for new roles to be
fully incorporated into any municipality
 Examine how prepared your utility is for new roles
beyond “end of pipe” management, especially source
controls and environmental restoration

28. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Philadelphia Water Department
Marc Cammarata
Glen Abrams
Howard Neukrug
Lance Butler
Christine Marjoram

29. Presenter contact information
Christopher Crockett, Ph.D., P.E.
Philadelphia Water Department
Planning & Research
1101 Market St., 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
USA
Chris.crockett@phila.gov
www.phila.gov/water
www.phillyriverinfo.org