Water | Penn Today

Cool for the summer

Joseph Wharton, founder of the Wharton School is referenced for having influenced Philadelphia’s sources of drinking water. Wharton proposed building a series of canals and lakes from the Pine Barrens, channeling the water west, into a pipe that would cross beneath the Delaware, into Philadelphia.

Climate change could threaten Philly’s drinking water

Allison Lassiter of the Weitzman School of Design discusses the options for protecting Philadelphia drinking water if rising seas and drought threaten sections of the Delaware River.

Four panelists sit at table listening while one speaks into microphone

First UN Water Conference in four decades includes a delegation from Penn

Events on campus last week kicked off the global proceedings, which will include representatives from the Water Center at Penn, Penn Carey Law School, and the School of Arts & Sciences.

Four students dig a hole in a garden at Hamilton School in Philadelphia.

Green solutions are transforming a West Philadelphia grade school

With support from grants and the Netter Center, the Andrew Hamilton School in Cobbs Creek is now home to a food forest and a thriving garden, providing healthy produce, green space, stormwater management, and educational opportunities.

From the U.N. climate conference, advice for Philly as it adapts to global warming

A delegation of Penn students, researchers, and faculty who attended the COP27 climate conference offer their ideas for how Philadelphia officials can work to make the goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.

Delaware Valley experts, residents call ‘forever chemical’ health screening recommendations a ‘bold step’

Mary Regina Boland of the Perelman School of Medicine says patients could lower their environmental health risks by discovering the source of their exposure to toxic chemicals.

Several people around a table, one holds a satellite map.

Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future

Artists supported by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities created tools for navigating unpredictable ecological challenges, then brought them to life in a series of public workshops at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Shoshana Weintraub, Sarah Beth Gleeson, and Julia Yan.

Engineering a solution for microplastic pollution

May graduates Sarah Beth Gleeson, Shoshana Weintraub, and Julia Yan will use their President’s Sustainability Prize to create a device for trapping microfibers in laundry machines to reduce ocean microplastic pollution.

ben franklin bridge at twilight with philly skyline

The Clean Water Act at 50

Approaching the half-century mark of this landmark piece of environmental legislation, Penn students, staff, and faculty share their reflections on its legacy, both strengths and shortcomings.

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change

Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning Allison Lassiter researches unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change.

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