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Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure |  |
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Pennsylvania: PhiladelphiaGreen Infrastructure Type: Green Municipalities Types of Green Infrastructure Used: Green Roofs, Rain Gardens, Vegetated Swales & Landscaping, Porous Pavement; Downspout Disconnection, Rain Barrels & Cisterns. Summary:
Description: In an effort to raise awareness about impervious cover and its integral connection to urban stormwater management, Philadelphia is revising its stormwater billing system to create a more equitable fee structure that more closely reflects the costs of managing stormwater from each property. Rather than charge a single flat rate for all metered customers, new fees will be determined by calculating the amount of impervious cover on a given property. In this way, stormwater fees will reach non-metered customers such as rail lines, parking lots and utility rights of way that account for significant impervious space in the city. This reallocation of stormwater charges to large non-residential customers will be implemented over a four-year period beginning in fiscal year 2009. In addition to creating a more representative fee system, this new ordinance will also provide a financial incentive for customers to retrofit properties with green infrastructure practices that reduce impervious cover. Under this new system, customers will eventually realize that reduced imperviousness makes both economic and environmental sense. To aid in the retrofit process, PWD will provide retrofit assistance through site inspections and design recommendations. Philadelphia revised its entire development review process at the same time that new stormwater regulations came into effect. These new regulations were implemented in January 2006 and apply to all developments resulting in 15,000 square feet or more of earth disturbance. Under these new ordinances, developers must now submit stormwater plans early in the permitting process, which ensures that stormwater is included in overall site design and drainage plans. To avoid delays, PWD created a partnership with the department of Licenses and Inspections and the City Planning Commission, which simplified and streamlined the process for permit review, inspection and approval. An additional improvement is that redevelopment projects may be exempt from standard Channel Protection and Flood Control Requirements if they can reduce directly connected impervious area (DCIA) by at least 20%. As a result, most developers now build on infill sites instead of undeveloped, natural areas. Further, almost all of these redevelopment projects reach the 20% reduction through a variety of green infrastructure practices, including roof downspout disconnections, porous pavement, tree plantings, and green roofs. Since 2006, Philadelphia has been built out with green infrastructure features that cover more than one square mile of the city. These practices now manage most one inch storms, reducing CSO inputs by a quarter billion gallons, and have saved the city an estimated $170 million. The city also expects to save money on the costs of maintaining pipe networks and the upkeep of treatment plants by removing flow from these systems. Additional benefits the city has reaped from its green infrastructure implementation include improved compliance with NPDES and TMDL requirements, increased protection of drinking water sources, and significant aesthetic improvements in the surrounding cityscape. For more information, visit: City of Philadelphia: Going Green |
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