SOAK IT UP! S. Philly Pioneers Green Water Treatment

BY TONY WEST/ The part you see is pretty: four spindly young sidewalk trees planted alongside 16th Street just south of Passyunk Avenue. Unusual trees at first glance only because they were wearing bright knit socks the length of their trunks last Thursday.

Underground, though, they were part of an audacious experiment by the Philadelphia Water Dept. in how to rethink the city’s storm drains.

One old storm drain is still in place. It drains, like most, directly into the Delaware River when it rains, washing pollutants into the water.

Just up the street from it now, though, is a brand-new storm drain which intercepts all the runoff from the gutter. This water is now channeled under the sidewalk to nurse the roots of the four trees. What the trees don’t drink percolates safely into the ground.

“We were delighted to host this experiment,” said Newbold Civic Association President Naomi Geschwind. “This intersection has been plagued by flooding when it rains.”

Led by Water Commissioner Howard Neukrug, the new “green street” experiment was kicked off with a grand opening last Thursday. Nearby Guerin Recreation Center’s Aftercare Program helped plan a colorful celebration for the baby trees.

This project is fairly expensive and the City cannot afford to convert all its storm drains at once, said Neukrug. But most of the City’s drains are quite aged and as they fail, they must be replaced. Neukrug hopes this new system will permit the Water Dept. over time to phase out storm drains that feed into the river and replace them with ones that feed into the soil.

Trees are a nice addition to the street. In addition to fighting flooding, they will help cool South Philadelphia’s baking pavements for years to come.

WATER COMMISSIONER Howard Neukrug, left, joins Naomi Geschwind of Newbold Civic Association and Councilman Kenyatta Johnson beside one of their brand-new trees, cleverly engineered to soak up stormwater from street. Tree sock was a Guerin Rec Center brainstorm.

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