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This Issue 02/15/2007

Also in this issue

• Give me 5
• Reno 911 Extended Interview
• Molto Bello
• Word on the Street

The Fels South Philadelphia Family Center on Broad Street is not a building where you'd expect a debate regarding the future of Philadelphia's water treatment plants to occur. It has none of the imposing statues, high ceilings or mahogany tabletops typical of most conference centers.

Instead, bright finger paintings and cheery fluorescent cut-outs plaster the wall in alternating colors. The podium and slide projector look out-of-place; the men in suits might seem more comfortable trading industry secrets in a dimly-lit bar.

Still, on a blistery cold evening in late January, this room hosts an extremely important meeting: a public hearing held by Philly's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to discuss renewing the permits of the city's three water treatment plants. The issue may not seem controversial, but local residents have turned out in full force to protest a major side effect of Philly's troubled water system: continued flooding of their homes.

The room buzzes with members of the Sierra Club, Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association (NLNA) representatives and DEP and Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) spokespeople, who chat amiably before the meeting.

But after the hearing begins, it becomes clear there will be no peaceful resolution to tonight's debate. The PWD's presentation quickly evolves into a passionate deliberation about Philadelphia's water pollution problems.

"Philadelphia Water Department is proud to offer water-treating efforts using the newest technology," PWD spokesman Marc Cammarata beams, just as the Sierra Club blasts his organization for emitting too many chemicals into the water. Embittered activists like Matt Ruben of NLNA then angrily describe the failures of sewage pipes for the Philadelphians they represent. Organizers specifically request that participants not address flooded basements. But conversation invariably returns to the faulty sewage system and the questionable quality of treated water.

The 200 block of West Wildey in Northern Liberties has seen the bulk of the damage. From her neighbor's home, local resident Claire Hollocher complains, "The water department doesn't care about us, and never will." Hollocher, a fiery 70-something, has endured three years of constant flooding, backed-up sewage and fruitless discussions with the PWD, which claims that her problems aren't under its jurisdiction. "I'm tired of waiting for them to fix our problems."

Antiquated Infrastructure

There are 3000 sewers that connect Philadelphia's water supply to its three water treatment plants. When storms occur, half of the neighborhoods in Philadelphia have separate sewers for storm water and sanitary waste. The storm water is transported to a stream, and the sanitary waste goes to one of three water pollution facilities in order to be treated with a range of chemicals. To date, there have been few complaints from these neighborhoods about flooded basements.