$3.5 Million in Grants to Promote Green Storm Water Management Practices

The Stormwater Management Incentives Program (SMIP) is a grant program designed to be a catalyst for transforming large, commercial impervious properties that generate high volumes of storm water runoff and burden the city’s sewer system and waterways into properties that build and maintain green storm water management practices. These practices include rain gardens, vegetated infiltration basins, porous asphalt, and green roofs.

The SMIP grant is an important component of PWD’s Green City Clean Waters Plan that includes an ambitious goal to covert 9,500 impervious acres to “green acres” that capture and manage the first inch of storm water runoff to achieve beautiful, fishable, clean and healthy rivers and streams. The grant will also allow businesses, institutions and other non-residential customers to reduce their storm water rates by providing funding for the design and implementation of these green infrastructure projects and to join the Projects were evaluated based on a variety of criteria with cost effective green acres bearing the highest percentage of points. From the 41 applications received, 13 applications met the primary criteria in addition to offering innovative and inspiring green storm water management solutions that can demonstrate similar opportunities on other public and private sites.

The 13 projects result in the creation of 58 green acres. One green acre will manage at least the first inch of rainfall over an acre that drains to a common storm water management practice.

The winning projects include LaSalle University, Dependable Distribution Services, Revolutionary Recovery, Case Paper, Newman Paper Company, Jomar Textiles, Morton McMichael School, Aspira-Antonia Pantoja Charter School, Yards Brewing, The Enterprise Center, Grace Epiphany Church, Litworx and Prodigy Day Care and Roxborough Baptist Church.

Source: Philadelphia Water Department