This was the question facing Glen Abrams, Urban Watersheds Planner for the Philadelphia Water Department.

"Only part of Philadelphia has separate storm sewers," Abrams said in an interview with Edens Lost & Found. "The major impairment to our streams is storm water runoff."

"One of our biggest problems is finding ways of mitigating storm water runoff and our combined sewer overflows," Abrams said. "So, where we are right now is trying to illustrate techniques through a variety of demonstration projects."

The department started with projects on vacant land, then moved on to school projects, city facilities and public rights of way. Finally they had collected enough information and experience to begin redevelopment projects. The result has been a low-impact development program that uses sustainable methods of dealing with storm water.

On vacant land, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society stepped in to assist with a tree nursery. Rain water runoff is collected from the houses behind it and used to water the trees, which will eventually be planted in the neighborhood and along a trail that will link the neighborhood to the Schuylkill River.

"Then on vacant land across from a school, we built an outdoor classroom," Abrams said. "Like most urban school districts, our schoolyards are largely asphalt and we are proposing some projects here to rip up the asphalt and create rainwater gardens. They'll be part of the experiential learning for the kids."

One of Abrams' favorite projects was completed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. It had an abandoned school building that was turned into our first green city building. A rain garden, porous pavement, and some subgrade infiltration helped deal with stormwater.

"We're trying to focus on parking lots and beautify them through landscaping," Abrams said. "At one city rec center facility in West Philadelphia we're going to be replacing the basketball courts, upgrading them, using porous pavement and using some infiltration planters to beautify and manage the storm water.

"We're walso orking with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to look at public rights of way," he continued. "We'll divert rainwater so it drains into street medians and traffic triangles, where plantings can absorb most of the flow.

"With public and commercial community development corporations we're going to be looking at green roofs on office buildings and similar storm water management features."

Housing developments, too will get the green treatment, according to Abrams. Landscaping components will provide parklike space for the neighborhood residents while it helps manage the storm water; win-win!