Philadelphia uses tough love to overhaul its water and sewer system

."When it comes to dealing with water, the ambition of Philadelphia is to change more than its infrastructure. It wants to change its very culture, in a cutting-edge effort to address climate and water issues. But the effort is provoking protests over costs."

"...the Philadelphia Water Department was fundamentally changing how it assessed water bills...When it comes to dealing with water, the ambition of the City of Brotherly Love is to change more than its infrastructure. It wants to change its very culture."

"...Neukrug pitched the most aggressive "green infrastructure" plan in the country. Through increased vegetation, rain barrels, sponge-like roads and other measures, the city would try to absorb more water where it fell. The ground would filter out pollutants, reduce strain on the pipelines and make the city a more attractive place."

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Read the whole article here

Thanks to Jim Lorman for finding this article.  I reported on "Plan Philly" earlier, but I hadn't heard till now that it had actually cleared the hurdles of federal approval.  Summary of Plan Philly

Philadelphia is taking this "radical" approach, because for them, green infrastructure is far cheaper than the billions it would take to meet federal mandates using more traditional "grey infrastructure."    Most communities--in the long run--would probably find "green infrastructure" cost effective.  But for Philadelphia, because of their antiquated sewage system, it's cost-effective right away.