Philly’s old water infrastructure gets help from new developments

The Philadelphia Water Department enacted new regulations this month to comply with the federal Clean Water Act.

Directed at developers, the rules aim to cut down on flooding; encourage the use of green infrastructure; and bolster the health of the Schuylkill, Delaware, Wissahickon and all water systems flowing in the city.

“Each new development site is going to be managing more water onsite,” explained department engineer Victoria Lenoci. “They’ll be slowing the rate at which the water releases back into our system, and they’re also going to be cleaning the dirtiest water that’s running off their site.”

All development projects — new construction and redevelopment, residential and commercial — must comply with the new regulations. “Every time a parcel in the city gets built on, it’s our opportunity to mitigate how the runoff leaves the site,” said Jeremy Chadwick, a city planner with the water department.

Lenoci and Chadwick explained the details of the new regulations and the projected impact they’ll have with NewsWorks Tonight’s Dave Heller.