Philadelphia Water Commissioner Debra A. McCarty joined students and members of the West Philadelphia Coalition for Neighborhood Schools at Henry C. Lea Elementary Tuesday to celebrate five years of Green City, Clean Waters.

She also celebrated the completion of a new schoolyard featuring three rain gardens, nearly two dozen new trees, and porous paving and play surfaces.

The green stormwater tools were funded largely through a $242,000 Stormwater Management Incentives Program grant from Philadelphia Water.

In addition to making Lea a greener, more vibrant place to learn and play, the green infrastructure tools manage over 58,000 gallons of stormwater runoff for every inch of rain that falls.  Dedicated volunteers held a planting day in April to complete the project..

The ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by a play activity that highlighted the need to protect our rivers now and for future generations, and students held up a sign that read "Our Green School Yard Makes Otters Happy!"

Because Lea is located in the Schuylkill Watershed, area storm drains and sidewalks are marked with river otters to remind people that trash and pollution in the streets gets washed into the Schuylkill.

River otters remind people trash and pollution in the streets get washed into the Schuylkill River where a short otter video was filmed.

For more information, visit Philadelphia Water’s Green City, Clean Waters webpage.

NewsClips:

Philadelphia Water Celebrates 5 Years Of Green City, Clean Waters

Project Aims To Slow Inner-City Erie Stormwater Runoff

Harvesting Rain Provides Environmental, Economic Benefits In Erie

(Reprinted from Philadelphia Water’s Blog.)

5/16/2016