Grantee Research Project Results

2017 Progress Report: Taking it to the Streets: Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Philadelphia Communities

EPA Grant Number: R835558
Title: Taking it to the Streets: Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Philadelphia Communities
Investigators: Ballestero, Thomas P
Institution: University of New Hampshire
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2017 (Extended to September 30, 2020)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2016 through September 30,2017
Project Amount: $992,759
RFA: Performance and Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure Stormwater Management Approaches in the Urban Context: A Philadelphia Case Study (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Water

Objective:

This project proposes to build municipal capacity in the greater Philadelphia urban watersheds for Green Infrastructure (GI) by engaging local and regional stakeholders in a planning and implementation process that is supported by science-based resources and up-to-date relevant technical information. This will be accomplished by: 1) forming and working with multi-sector project advisors who will help guide the implementation of the project goals with the project partners; 2) increasing municipal familiarity with the design, construction, and maintenance of GI practices through the installation of high impact, high-visibility demonstration projects; 3) increasing municipal capacity to implement GI by identifying existing social / economic / knowledge / technical barriers and prioritization of strategies; 4) developing partnerships within and between government and other stakeholders in the City; 5) clear tracking of green jobs and job opportunities associated with GI implementation; and 6) targeting outreach and dissemination of technical and informational resources through identified and prioritized approaches.

Progress Summary:

An elementary school playground and faculty parking lot reconstruction at Chester A. Arthur Elementary School was completed in 2016 and was then monitored throughout 2017. EPA’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) was used to evaluate error associated with GI system modeling, and to develop an understanding of the impact of system sizing on stormwater runoff control as wells as the costs to meet stormwater management objectives. The EPA SWMM computer code was selected to model GI from the site to the watershed scales. SWMM models were then developed and tested against field data to understand how SWMM does or does not adequately estimate system hydrology, particularly in the design phase when the system is not yet constructed and the engineer is in the process of sizing a system. The type and location of existing GI structures was incorporated into the Wingohocking SWMM hydraulic model.

Future Activities:

Plans to televideo systems constructed under this grant as well as other Philadelphia Water Department systems in order to provide information that at present is unavailable. It is anticipated that the televideo information will assist in determining when to maintain systems as well as maintenance effectiveness. Continued efforts to develop concept designs for stormwater management at Philadelphia elementary schools will persist. These include the collaborations with The Big Sandbox, Iowa State University and University of Colorado – Denver. Monitoring of Philadelphia and New Hampshire systems will continue. The systems monitored at Chester Arthur Elementary School are in collaboration with school faculty and students. Educational programs for Chester Arthur students will be planned around the data collected at the site. SWMM modeling efforts will conclude with the modeling approaches at the system-scale and move up to the watershed scale.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 44 publications for this project

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.