Wetlands are Mother Nature’s water treatment system. The plants in marshlands act as a natural cleansing system by slowing the flow of the water and helping to settle out many of the contaminants. The recreated wetland at Saylor’s Grove is the first stormwater-treatment wetland in Philadelphia. Stormwater runoff from adjacent streets will flow into the three-acre site just off Lincoln Drive at Wissahickon Avenue.

The wetland treats incoming storm water via a two-tiered process, says PWD’s Chris Crockett, the engineer who managed the project. The water enters the wetland through two 12-inch inlet pipes, flowing through cascading rocks. The rocks help slow the flow of the water and to settle out some of the heavier contaminants. The water then enters the wetland, a marsh of submerged aquatic vegetation and wildlife that further remove contaminants.

Saylor’s Grove is engineered to keep the water moving, albeit at a slow pace, to avoid attracting mosquitoes. Once discharged from the wetland, the water will enter the Monoshone Creek and eventually reach the Queen Lane reservoir in East Falls. The Water Department expects the project to have a trickle-down effect, providing cleaner water to the reservoir and decreasing the amount of treatment necessary to turn it into drinking water, Crockett adds.