{"id":835,"date":"2021-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/gccw10-outreach\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T11:36:06","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:36:06","slug":"gccw10-outreach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/gccw10-outreach\/","title":{"rendered":"Green City, Clean Waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Green City, Clean Waters<\/a><\/em> <\/strong> approach to managing stormwater with neighborhood-based improvements has been called innovative<\/em>, ground-breaking<\/em>, even revolutionary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But what truly makes this initiative one of the nation\u2019s top green programs is\u00a0its driving priority\u2014 serving the people<\/em> who depend on Philadelphia\u2019s rivers and streams<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As the initiative celebrates its 10-year anniversary<\/a><\/strong>, we acknowledge this milestone was made possible by more than 400,000 engaged residents<\/strong> who\u2019ve inspired our work over the past decade.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the City of Philadelphia<\/strong> officially embarked on Green City, Clean Waters<\/em>, a 25-year plan<\/strong> to transform the health of our local waterways and meet state and federal water quality standards under the Clean Water Act<\/a>. The strategy involved implementing neighborhood-based green stormwater infrastructure<\/a> while also upgrading traditional infrastructure, such as treatment plants.<\/p>\n

The goal: reducing the No. 1 local pollution source by 85 percent by 2036.<\/h3>\n
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\"PWD<\/p>\n

West Philadelphia outreach specialist Dan Schupsky gives a tour of a combined sewer overflow on Cobbs Creek.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As we approached the drawing board more than a decade ago, we thought: How could we clean up local waterways while genuinely engaging our communities<\/strong>, too?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe advent of Green City, Clean Waters presented us with an opportunity to change the way we interacted with our residents,\u201d says Glen Abrams, Deputy Commissioner of Communications and Engagement<\/strong>.<\/cite> \u201cMost green stormwater infrastructure systems are much more visible compared to traditional underground infrastructure. We wanted to make sure that people understood the need for this new type of infrastructure and had a voice in how the systems were planned and designed<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Green City, Clean Waters<\/em> was an innovative way to reduce water pollution while generating secondary environmental, economic, and social benefits<\/strong> for all Philadelphia residents. Within this collective push for a greener city with cleaner waters, we wanted to create a plan-of-action for empowering communities with knowledge and resources to maintain a sustainable city<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the subject is important to Philadelphians.<\/h3>\n

Nearly half<\/em> of customer survey respondents over the last few years ranked cleaning waterways as the second most critical issue<\/strong> that the Water Department should address. Only safe drinking water topped that priority.<\/p>\n

\"Continue<\/div>\n

\u201cPhiladelphians want to contribute to the solution,\u201d says Tiffany Ledesma, Public Engagement Team manager.<\/cite> \u201cThey want to do their part to improve their local communities and their city\u2019s waterways\u2014for their children and the next generation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Philadelphia should be proud <\/strong>of what the city is set to achieve in the first decade of Green City, Clean Waters<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While green infrastructure that will be reflected in our 10-year milestone<\/strong> report is still being built, here are some highlights as of June 2020:<\/p>\n

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