The StormwaterPA website this week offered two new video case studies on effective stormwater management strategies.

Porous Paving: Another piece of the City of Brotherly Love's stormwater management puzzle has been put into place, this time on the 800 block of Percy Street in South Philadelphia's Bella Vista neighborhood.

The city's first porous "green street" replaces traditional impervious asphalt and reduces the amount of polluted runoff entering city sewers by allowing stormwater to infiltrate the surface and be stored in a stone bed until it can be absorbed by the soil.

The project was a collaboration between the Philadelphia Water Department and the Philadelphia Streets Department and has the added benefit of keeping homeowners basements dry where in the past, flooding often occurred.

Click Here to watch the case study.

Meadow Mowing: Many open spaces, including municipal parks, are covered by groomed lawn. Most people think these mown areas are "green and tidy." But, in reality, they often act like parking lots. The underlying soil is so compacted that rain runs off almost as though the grass was paved.

Letting mown areas become natural meadows returns them to functional parts of the water system. These meadows prevent flooding, create habitat, and are beautiful to behold.

 Click Here to watch the case study.

 Visit the StormwaterPA website for more information on stormwater management solutions.

10/1/2012