Urban Water Challenges and Solutions
Priorities change and political landscapes shift, but the commitment of water utilities to provide clean and safe water in cities like Philadelphia remains steadfast.
By Xime Trujillo
Priorities change and political landscapes shift, but the commitment of water utilities to provide clean and safe water in cities like Philadelphia remains steadfast. Climate change impacts the water cycle, leading to more frequent and severe events like droughts and floods. Water utilities must adapt to these challenges by effectively managing and treating both low and excess water flows to meet the increasing demand of urban development, while ensuring public health is protected. The situation is further complicated by persistent issues such as aging infrastructure, pollution from heavy metals and microplastics, and degraded ecosystems, all of which put additional strain on urban water systems.
In response to these challenges, the Water Center at Penn’s Howard Neukrug, executive director, and Ellen Kohler, director of applied research and programs, co-lead the Catalyzing Nature-Based Solutions to Address Urban Water Challenges in Philadelphia Communities research community, supported by the Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII), a transdisciplinary effort aiming to safeguard water security.
The Spring Water Policy Forum
As part of the research community’s efforts, Neukrug and Kohler also lead the Center’s Spring Water Policy Forum, an annual meeting that brings together scholars, students, and practitioners to tackle pressing issues in sustainable water management.
Each year the forum focuses on a different theme. In 2024, the forum considered frameworks such as Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), which involve actions to sustainably manage natural and modified ecosystems to optimize infrastructure and protect local communities. Experts participating in the 2024 Water Policy Forum shared challenges and best practices from across the Northeastern region of the U.S., all aimed at addressing emerging needs for providing essential services in environmentally sound and equitable ways.
Such sustainable water management principles have guided actions like replacing lead water pipes, creating passages to facilitate fish migration, and restoring degraded ecosystems. However, much remains to be done to expand NBS in cities from Boston to Washington D.C., also known as the Northeast Mega Region. One significant challenge is confronting combined sewer overflows (CSOs), another focus of the Water Policy Forum in 2024. In some areas of cities in the Mega Region, outdated stormwater collection systems combine rainfall runoff and wastewater in piped channels leading to treatment plants managed by water utility companies. When they work properly, these plants treat water to remove hazardous substances before returning it to the source, adhering to environmental standards. During large storms, these combined sewer systems were designed to spill or overflow into waterways, and with a changing climate, overflows are becoming more frequent, challenging the capacity of water treatment plants. Untreated water can pose risks to people and nature on rainy days, and flooding exacerbates the hazards to public health. This raises critical questions: How can we prevent sewer overflows? What opportunities exist to manage water in ways that protect local communities and ecosystems from hazards, rather than increasing health risks? Experts worldwide recognize NBS as a viable intervention to address these challenges. With support from EII, a team of students involved in the Water Center documented the nexus of climate change, NBS and CSO remediation in a policy brief.
In considering what theme to address for the 2025 forum, changes in the federal and state funding landscape prompted Neukrug, Kohler, and members of the research community to concentrate on navigating the various issues facing the water sector. These issues include climate change, affordability, aging infrastructure, emerging contaminants, and shifting policies.
Against this backdrop, the Water Center, with support from EII as well as Penn Carey Law School and Perry World House, hosted a well-attended forum this past April, including experts from state agencies, non-profit organizations, public and private utilities, academic institutions, and over 50 students. Participants engaged in discussions focused on water governance, finance, and innovative technologies.
“Our goal was to provide insights into navigating the challenges we face in water management,” says Kohler. “I left the forum feeling more hopeful than I had anticipated, which was also important for the students in attendance.” As a result of the forum, an action-oriented policy brief is currently in development.
Building on the momentum of the 2024 forum discussion as well as ongoing work on NBS at the Water Center, The Water Center continues to be engaged in two projects in the Mega Region. “Communities want to see NBS come to fruition,” emphasizes Kohler. First, in partnership with the Center for Environmental Transformation (CFET) and eDesign Dynamics at Drexel University, the Water Center’s Kohler and Neukrug, joined by Brianne Callahan, senior research manager, and Heather Korzun, graduate student research fellow, along with Penn Praxis’ Ellen Neises, executive director, and John Henderson, project engineer, supported the development of a Coastal Resilience Master Plan for Camden. Rooted in community-led, science-informed planning, this partnership investigated the causes of flooding, including heavy precipitation, snowmelt, storm surges, sewer backups, and their combined effects to craft a plan that considers flood impacts on daily life, property, the local economy, and public health. The plan leverages natural systems, like wetlands, green infrastructure, and habitat restoration to reduce flood risk (even with sea-level rise) while also catalyzing community engagement.
The Water Center also facilitated municipal engagement in the White Clay Creek Watershed to assess flood risk in this federally designated National Wild and Scenic River that spans parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware. In partnership with Drexel University and the White Clay Watershed Association, research community members are developing a detailed flood model that can simulate a range of storm scenarios and evaluate potential mitigation strategies, including NBS, to guide long-term flood risk management strategies.
Research and Policy
A dual approach, comprising research and policy, is the engine of the research community. “The policy briefs derived from the Water Policy Forum also work as an action road map, helping to connect our projects with broader concerns,” shares Brenton McCloskey, director of strategic development and communications of the Water Center. For instance, experts at the Water Policy Forum in 2025 discussed links between challenging trends and NBS, including barriers like finance, because “ecosystem services are still not properly valued as ‘investments,’” explains Kohler.
Despite facing financial and policy obstacles, residents recognize that access to safe water is vital. For this reason, the research community will continue to explore the connections between the needs of local communities and the protection and restoration of urban water systems. Water is an essential resource, and NBS plays a crucial role in providing safe and clean water while also strengthening local communities. “There is a significant need, promising potential, and strong interest in NBS, and we are already preparing for next year’s forum,” notes Neukrug.