“The biggest challenge is competing priorities and costs. We do our best to limit rate increases; however, like many communities, we are witnessing rising costs related to materials and labor for infrastructure improvements, aging assets, and regulations for water, wastewater, and stormwater—which are straining both our operating and capital budgets.” Marc Cammarata with Philadelphia Water Department shares insights from the second convening of the water equity network.
In March, five City Teams with the Delaware River Basin Water Equity Network —Trenton, NJ; Allentown, PA; Reading, PA; Camden, NJ; and Philadelphia, PA— gathered in Philadelphia to discuss challenges and identify shared priorities with an emphasis on climate resiliency.
“…over the last decade or so, we’ve continued to see more extreme weather events, further stressing our infrastructure and impacting our communities. Now more than ever, we must plan and design projects that are in line with future climate projections. For example, we can design a tunnel for a 25-year storm, but if we are seeing an intensification of short-duration, high-frequency storms, will the water make it into the tunnel regardless of this increased capacity?”
To read Marc’s full interview, with Paula Conolly, AICP (she/her), as captured by Erica DePalma with US Water Alliance, see the full article here.
To learn more about the US Water Alliance Pillars of Equity (Pillar 2 Pictured above), click here.
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