Philadelphia's Watershed-Based Approach to Long Term CSO Control Planning

The Philadelphia Water Department is a regional water, wastewater, and stormwater utility with over 480,000 retail accounts serving over 2.3 million people. The fundamental goal of the Philadelphia Water Department's (PWD) combined sewer overflow (CSO) program is to improve and preserve the water environment in the Philadelphia area and to fulfill PWD's obligations under the Clean Water Act and the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law by implementing technically viable, cost-effective improvements and operational changes. The PWD's strategy to attain these goals has three primary phases which are being implemented concurrently over a 5 year time frame: 1. Continued implementation of a comprehensive program for Nine Minimum Controls; 2. Planning, design, and construction of 17 capital projects that further enhance system performance and reduce CSO volume and frequency; and, 3. a commitment to complete comprehensive watershedbased planning and analyses that will identify additional, priority actions to further improve water quality and quantity dynamics in the Philadelphia area water bodies.