Philadelphia Water Department

Review & Permitting

It is important that property developers consider City stormwater management requirements and infrastructure placement early in the project planning process. This page will assist in determining a project’s applicability to Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) Stormwater Regulations.

For an overview of stormwater management and watershed issues in Philadelphia, visit PWD's Stormwater page. Additional information is available within the Introduction section of the Philadelphia Stormwater Management Guidance Manual (Manual).

Planning

Determine applicability

The requirements of PWD's Stormwater Regulations are determined by the project's amount of proposed earth disturbance. At a minimum, development projects proposing 5,000 square feet or more of earth disturbance must submit an Existing Resource Site Analysis (ERSA) Application to PWD.

Additional requirements come into play as the amount of earth disturbance increases:

Stormwater management requirements based on earth disturbance
<5,0000 SF5,000 to <15, 000 SF15,000 SF to <1 Acre> 1 Acre
No ERSA submission required. Install Erosion and Sediment (E&S) Controls as needed. Submit ERSA Application, including an E&S Plan. Submit ERSA Application, including a Conceptual Stormwater Management Plan.

After obtaining Conceptual Approval, submit a Post-Construction Stormwater Management Plan (PCSMP)		Submit ERSA Application, including a Conceptual Stormwater Management Plan.

After obtaining Conceptual Approval, submit a PCSMP. Applicant must also obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit from PA DEP.

Note that there are also factors beyond earth disturbance, such as development type and watershed, which will determine specific stormwater management requirements. For more information, refer to Design and Permitting below.

Going above and beyond the Regulations

PWD offers various cost-saving incentives to owners, project managers, and developers who install stormwater management infrastructure on their property. To read more about these development incentives, including Stormwater Grants and the City's Green Roof Density Bonus, visit the Development Incentives page.

Managing stormwater beyond what is required by Philadelphia's Stormwater Regulations frequently involves a private property's voluntary management of runoff from adjacent streets. In these scenarios, PWD "Green Inlets" convey street runoff to a junction box or manhole that connects to a privately owned system. Interested parties may learn more about managing street runoff in Manual Section 3.5.6., Streets. For related PWD green infrastructure design resources, see the "Typical Details" materials within GSI Planning & Design's Resources page.

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Design and permitting

Within PWD Development Services, the Stormwater Plan Review program is tasked with the review of all Philadelphia development projects creating earth disturbances of 5,000 square feet or more.

The type of review and associated requirements will be determined by the development category, watershed, and earth disturbance specific to each project. See Section 1.1 of the Philadelphia Stormwater Management Guidance Manual (Manual) for details.

There are four Review Paths for projects submitted to Development Services:
  • Development Compliance
  • Development Exemption
  • Demolition
  • Stormwater Retrofit

The fourth Review Path above, Stormwater Retrofit, refers to projects that are reviewed by PWD's Stormwater Billing and Incentives team; this group should be contacted directly before an ERSA Application is submitted. Projects on all other review paths will follow the procedures outlined in Design Process below.

Private Cost projects

Separate from the four defined Review Paths, Private Cost projects are reviewed by PWD's Engineering Design Unit. A Private Cost project describes a residential, commercial, or industrial development whose funding comes from a private or public source other than the Philadelphia Water Department. Private Cost requirements also apply to projects initiated by Federal, State, and Local agencies.

To read more about the Private Cost process, see the Private Cost Contract Requirements webpage and accompanying manual.

Design process

Projects on the Demolition and Development Exemption Review Paths must submit an Erosion and Sediment Control (E&S) Plan and follow their approved E&S Plans during construction. Sediment produced during construction is a major contributor to local water pollution. Sediment can also clog City inlets, which is why it is vital to implement controls that keep soils onsite and out of City streets, inlets, and water bodies.

Development Compliance Review Path projects must also meet Post-Construction Stormwater Management (PCSM) Requirements which regulate how stormwater runoff leaves a project site in its post-development condition. PCSM Requirements have four components: Water Quality, Channel Protection, Flood Control, and the Public Health and Safety (PSH) Release Rate, which are discussed in Section 1.2.1 of the Manual.

PWD has created an integrated design approach through which developers can meet the Stormwater Regulations for their proposed projects:

Not all SMPs are created equal, and some will function better than others when assessing overall performance, "Triple Bottom Line" benefits, costs, and ease of long-term maintenance. PWD's SMP Hierarchy can aid in selecting the best SMP(s) for the project.

PWD's Manual offers design and material standards; construction and maintenance guidance; standard details for each type of SMP; and guidance for pretreatment, inlet control, and outlet control systems that support SMP functions. All information can be found in Chapter 4.

Application, review, and permitting process

Step 1: The Existing Resources and Site Analysis (ERSA) Application

Step 2: Conceptual review

  • For projects on the Development Exemption and Demolition Review Paths, PWD reviews the E&S plan during Conceptual Review. Separately, the Conceptual Approval Letter fulfills the PWD prerequisite for Building and/or Demolition Permits.
  • For Development Compliance Review Path proposals, a Conceptual Review is the preliminary analysis of a project's stormwater management approach and a prerequisite for the Zoning Permit.
  • A response to each Conceptual Review submission is typically provided within seven (7) calendar days.
  • Following resolution of all review comments, payment of a Conceptual Stormwater Management Plan Approval Fee must be received for all Development Compliance Review Path projects before a Conceptual Approval Letter is issued.

Step 3: Post-construction Stormwater Management Plan Review

  • Upon Conceptual Stormwater Management Plan Approval, projects on the Development Compliance Review Path should prepare a Post-Construction Stormwater Management Plan (PCSMP) submission.
  • Request a PCSMP Review through PWD’s Project Dashboard. Begin by selecting the Conceptually approved project and creating a new online technical worksheet. To initiate a re-submission, duplicate the most recent online technical worksheet.
Already received an approval from Stormwater Plan Review?

Determining remaining requirements for a PWD sign-off for the Building Permit application is the next step. Once the building permit is secured, refer to the How to Obtain Stormwater Sign-off on a Building Permit Application handout for more information.

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