Project Planning & Implementation in an Urban Watershed – Assessing and Restoring the Creeks in Philadelphia, PA
Jiujia Guo
Neha Ghaisas PhD
Philadelphia Water Department
Philadelphia, PA
Authors: Jiujia Guo, Neha Ghaisas Ph.D., Rick Howley, Richard Anthes Jr., David-Evan Dixon, Muiyeang Lee
Urban watersheds such as Pennypack Creek have experienced extensive land use changes resulting in the loss of ecosystem functionality along the riparian corridor. Erosive flows exacerbated by the impervious surface further degrade aquatic and riparian habitats and expose nearby stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure. The Ecological Restoration Planning and Design teams at the Philadelphia Water Department identify, prioritize, implement, and monitor stream restoration and wetland creation projects within the City of Philadelphia for infrastructure protection, pollution reduction regulatory compliance credit, water quality improvement, and ecological uplift. The Pennypack Creek Watershed encompasses a 56-square-mile drainage area of Southeastern Pennsylvania, of which approximately 30% spans through the highly urbanized neighborhoods in Philadelphia County. Between May 2022 and January 2023, the Planning team assessed 30 miles of stream reaches in the watershed, collected data on 276 unique streamside infrastructure elements, and identified 68 total potential candidates for restoration. Prioritization of potential sites is conducted with the consideration of capital funding and existing partnerships. The Design team is engaged in 5 concurrent projects along the main stem and tributaries of the Pennypack Creek that include restorative practices such as floodplain reconnection, dam removal, sewer relocation and upsizing to meet increasing capacity in addition to critical storm and sewer infrastructure repairs. This presentation will summarize the project life cycle from identification through post-construction monitoring.
About Jiujia Guo
Jiujia is an Environmental Engineering Specialist with the Ecological Restoration Planning Group at Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). She has a Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Science from the Hohai University in China and a Master of Environmental Studies with a concentration on Urban Environment from the University of Pennsylvania. Jiujia joined the team in 2021 following the separation of Planning and Design within original Ecological Restoration Group. Since then, she has been leading the Stream Assessment and Monitoring Program (SAM) to collect and analyze the data of streamside infrastructure conditions for capital project identification and prioritization purposes. She also manages the post construction monitoring for all stream restoration projects within the City of Philadelphia to verify whether the performance of constructed sites is in alignment with proposed project objectives.
Prior to the role with PWD, Jiujia worked at The Water Center at University of Pennsylvania as a research intern assisting with the incorporation of sustainability topics into water-related curriculum for the Master of Environmental Studies program. Inside and outside work, Jiujia enjoys hiking in/along the stream corridor in either sunny or snowy days, looking at cute wildlife, and learning fabulous things about nature.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiujia-guo-env-sp-336713148/
About Neha Ghaisas, PhD
Neha is an Environmental Engineer Specialist in the Ecological Restoration – Design team at Philadelphia Water Department. She joined the Philadelphia Water Department as a Process Engineer in the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant before joining the Ecological Restoration group at PWD. In her current role, Neha is assisting with design reviews, partnership, and regulatory coordination for multiple stream restoration projects within the City of Philadelphia.
Prior to working for PWD, Neha worked towards as a research assistant and completed her doctoral dissertation in Chemical and Physical Oceanography from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Her dissertation research was in the Mississippi river influenced region of Gulf of Mexico, titled “Iron Mediated Organic Preservation in a River Influenced Continental Margin”. She has a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Connecticut, Storrs CT and a Bachelors in Electronics and Communications Engineering from GGSIP University, Delhi, India.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/neha-ghaisas-ph-d-70394010
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Opxq8TQAAAAJ