Philadelphia’s Green Stormwater Infrastructure

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Many older cities face increasing stormwater management issues. Today’s video was put together by the Philadephia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds and gives a pretty good overview of an integrated approach.

The city is trying to address combined sewer overflows through a combination of traditional infrastructure and “green” infrastructure as the city is continuously rebuilt and repaired over time. The main goal is to prevent so much water from running off all of the impervious surfaces in the first place. More information on the approach is here.

The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water

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Today’s video is a short film from the Surfrider Foundation that outlines some of the radical changes to our water cycle that have happened due to increased population, urban development, and irrigation practices. The animated video is about 20 minutes long.

You can also see the video here.

As with many water issues, the end recommendation is integrated water management, with detailed examples.