City Council held its first hearing of the summer recess today, as a joint committee on the Environment and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs heard testimony about the possibilities of irrigating city ball fields using captured rainwater.
Councilman Jim Kenney sponsored legislation in April to investigate the feasibility of using technology that would cut down on expensive sprinkler systems and help the city manage storm water that drains from paved streets and into the city's sewer system. Kenney provided aerial photos of 14 fields that are a mess by mid-summer.
“Our residents, especially our youth, deserve to have properly maintained fields for recreational purposes,” Kenney said in a press release before the hearing. “Unfortunately, the reality is that many of our fields turn into dust bowls mid-way through the season. By effectively using storm water, we have the opportunity to improve field conditions and begin looking at creative, cost-saving ways to make significant improvements.”
One technology would collect rainwater underground and make it available to grass roots without the need for sprinklers.
After the hearing, Kenney said the next step is understanding the costs and savings of such systems. Asked whether he scheduled the hearing during the Council's three-month recess to show that Council members were actually working during the summer, Kenney smiled.
"No," said Kenney. "I like hearings like this because it brings to the fore ideas that department heads and Council members need to hear."
Also at the hearing were Council members Blondell Reynolds Brown, who co-chairs the joint committee, Curtis Jones Jr., Donna Reed Miller and Frank Rizzo.
Council's first session of the fall is Sept. 17.
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Comment removed.
It's great that Kenney's doing this, but wasn't Plan C just submitted to PICA? I still haven't seen the actual contents of that Plan covered in the papers, which is odd to me, since that is the actual, working budget that Philly most probably will have given the status of HB 1828 and the state budget. Plan C is going to be implemented stepwise, it seems in a monthly fashion as each month starts and ends. What are those cuts that are slated to occur, and won't that affect this funding, as well as funding for police/fire/trash? Can we irrigate ball fields and cut police, for example? How can we evaluate that answer until we look at the true full contents of Plan C for this FY?— CleanupPhilly- Are they serious? Are they living in cuckoo land? A budget crisis and they are talking about collecting rainwater and irrigating ballfields? For the youth....just like having free pools that aids in getting the city in this budget fiasco, non stop spending and no revenue! I will now add proposing new costs for irrigating/watering ballfields and borrowing money at 3% to 8% after 11/30, to continued hiring(when there was a hiring supposed freeze), continued promotions, upscale renovations to offices in 1515 Arch and the MSB...is this a budget crisis? It made me quesion Plan C before and now Im am certain that its smoke and mirrors. There are no contracts with the unions yet and nothing is settled.— uandwhosearmy
- Comment removed.
- Did you morons not read the COST SAVING part of the story? Doing something to improve fields for kids, while saving money AND reducing stormwater (which backs up in my basement every time it rains) is a brilliant idea.— lennybowie
- lennybowie: lighten up, Did you not read the part of the story and clearly interpet and understand that cost saving is opposed to installing sprinklers or using sprinklers. One easy solution for collecting rainwater that can be utilized is by putting large cylinders out there with spigots. There has been technology out there for decades without buying/modifying storm water systems. Time to work on your leaky basement. Again it is an additional costs they are talking about for technology that they are wondering whether would be a savings as opposed to installing sprinklers in 14 ballfields. It still costs money for technology in the midst of a budget crisis. Now what was that word you called us?— uandwhosearmy
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