@Philly H2O Blog

Infrastructure

News and info about the pipes, plants and people that keep our city running + protect our rivers & creeks.

New ‘Quiz,’ Website to Jumpstart Your Discounted 2018 Green Home Upgrade
December 11, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

Rain Check—our program best known for providing City residents with free rain barrels—is entering its sixth year with a new website designed to encourage more home landscaping projects that protect local waterways. By visiting the new Rain Check site, residents can now get a jumpstart on sustainable projects in the new year by discovering the best green upgrade for their property…

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Schuylkill River Trail Water Stations Closed for Winter
November 29, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

Following the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon, Philadelphia Water Department crews shut down and winterized all four Schuylkill River Trail water stations located between the Falls Bridge and Fairmount Water Works. The much-used features—offering fountains, bottle filling stations and ground-level bowls for dog walkers—are taken offline each winter to guard against freezing temperatures…

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Winter is coming: Watch this cold-weather tips vid and avoid frozen pipes
October 19, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

The arrival of chilly nights means it’s time to make sure your pipes are protected from cold winter temps that can cause frozen or burst pipes in your home or on your property. While most plumbing is deep enough underground or insulated well enough within your home to avoid freezing, water meters and water service lines can freeze when the temperature drops below 32 degrees in some cases…

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Latest Philadelphia Water Quality Data Out Now
June 26, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

Philadelphia residents have 24/7 access to top-quality water, a fact that they check themselves thanks to annual reports the Philadelphia Water Department releases detailing a year’s worth of data. This transparency is a defining quality for public water providers like PWD, and we take pride in the tremendous effort that goes into the constant monitoring done at our labs…

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Can You Decode Street Paint?
May 18, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

Beneath your feet, there’s an invisible universe of infrastructure. This world is hidden from view, but painted lines on the surface reveal exactly what’s there—if you know what to look for…

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Just One Water Main Replacement Project = 4X the Comcast Center and Some!
May 16, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

If you follow local news at all, you’ve probably seen some of the dramatic footage showing major water main breaks that have left the stores of Bakers Centre in East Falls flooded three times in just three years. Breaks like those at Bakers Centre are unusual for a few reasons, not least of which is amount of water that spilled…

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Infrastructure Week 2017: Our Time to Build
May 15, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

May 15-19 is Infrastructure Week 2017, and the Philadelphia Water Department is joining fellow utilities, cities, organizations and businesses around the country to highlight the importance of investing in infrastructure. Infrastructure is what makes our communities work. It’s the investments we make together to make life better…

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Nominations Wanted: 2017 ‘Excellence in GSI Awards’
January 4, 2017  |  Brian Rademaekers

What projects and people are making an impact on green stormwater infrastructure in our region? Last year saw the first-ever Excellence in GSI Awards, an effort by the Sustainable Business Network’s Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Partners to answer that question and highlight the best in local green stormwater projects and the people making them happen…

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