Philadelphia’s outdated sewer system is spilling 12.7 billion gallons of sewage into the Delaware River watershed every year, leaving local waters unsafe for months.
Philadelphia’s waterways are truly nasty. According to a recent report, the city dumps more than 12.7 billion gallons of raw and diluted sewage into flooding into the Delaware River’s watershed each year. And, to make it worse, nearby Camden County is adding to the filthy mess, according to a new report from environmental watchdog group PennEnvironment.
The 1972 Clean Water Act had a goal of safe and swimmable water, but most of the Delaware River and its tributaries remain unsafe. It is not just the Hudson and New York bodies of water, according to the report. Roughly 60% of Philadelphia is served by a combined sewer system that spews polluted sewer stuff into local waterways. The Philadelphia Water Department has apparently tried to fight this off with the Green City, Clean Waters initiative, which is a a 25-year, multibillion-dollar plan. But clearly it has not done enough.
The report studies from 2016 to 2024. Before the big push, the waste was about 15 billion gallons a year as cited in PennEnvironment’s 2023 report. About half the pollution came from just 10 places, with some waterways, including the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, experiencing numerous overflow events per year. That’s a lot of waste.
Camden County, NJ is not much better. PennEnvironment says that both cities are not doing what they need to do in order to protect the environment. Local environmental advocates demand federal investment and a tight deadline.
“Unfortunately, our new report on sewage pollution in Philadelphia shows that on far too many days each year, the Philadelphia Water Department’s pipes and sewer systems dump huge volumes of raw sewage into our beautiful waters, harming our environment and depriving the public of a safe place to fish, boat, and float,” said Hanna Felber, clean water advocate at PennEnvironment.
I think I need to look into what is happening in New York City and NJ, because this is deeply troubling!
