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Short answer: During heavy rain, parts of Philadelphia’s combined sewer system can discharge untreated or diluted sewage and stormwater into rivers and streams. The resulting bacteria, solids, floatables, nutrients and other pollutants create short-term risks for recreation and aquatic life, especially during and soon after an overflow. This does not automatically mean Philadelphia’s treated tap water is unsafe; drinking-water treatment and distribution are monitored separately.
Why Philadelphia has combined sewer overflows
A combined sewer system carries sanitary sewage and stormwater in the same pipes. Philadelphia’s combined system serves about 60 percent of the city, according to the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD). During wet weather, runoff can push the combined flow beyond the pipes’ carrying and treatment capacity. A portion then leaves through an outfall before reaching a sewage-treatment plant.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) defines a combined sewer overflow (CSO) as “intermittent overflows or other untreated discharges from a combined sewer system (CSS) to surface waters prior to reaching a sewage treatment facility.” PWD says billions of gallons of stormwater and diluted sewage can enter local waterways each year during these events.
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What an overflow can put into Philadelphia waterways
| Pollutant or material | How it affects water quality | Uses most affected |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria and other pathogens | Can increase the risk of illness when people swallow contaminated water or get it in their eyes, mouth or open cuts. | Swimming, wading, boating and other contact recreation |
| Solids and sediment | Can make water cloudy, settle on habitat and carry additional contaminants. | Aquatic habitat and recreation |
| Nitrogen and phosphorus | Nutrients can contribute to excessive plant and algae growth and reduce ecological quality under suitable conditions. | Fish and aquatic ecosystems |
| Floatable material | Trash and other floating debris can create direct hazards and visible pollution. | Shorelines, recreation and wildlife |
These pollutant categories are identified in EPA and DEP CSO materials. The actual mixture and concentration are event-specific; there is no single citywide CSO concentration that applies to every storm.
When river and stream risks are highest
Water-quality impacts are generally strongest during and soon after rain intense enough to trigger an overflow. A large storm can produce more discharge, while a smaller event may affect only particular outfalls. River flow and dilution can reduce concentrations in one location but do not make every contact point safe.
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- Treat water near a known or suspected outfall as potentially contaminated during and after overflow-producing rain.
- Avoid swimming, wading, fishing from the water, or letting children and pets enter affected waterways until authorities say conditions are acceptable.
- Do not rely on clear-looking water. Pathogens and dissolved pollutants may not be visible.
- Follow PWD, city and public-health notifications rather than applying a fixed waiting period. Philadelphia has no universal “safe after X hours” rule that covers every overflow and waterway.
DEP requires public notification and monitoring because communities must characterize CSO effects and communicate them to the public. An advisory for one river segment or outfall should not be interpreted as a measurement for every waterway in Philadelphia.
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Not automatically. CSO warnings concern receiving waters—rivers and streams—not an automatic failure of treated drinking water. PWD’s 2025 drinking-water report says its reported results were better than required federal public-health levels. Those results come from treatment and distribution monitoring, which are separate from post-storm conditions in the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers or smaller receiving streams.
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Residents should continue using official drinking-water notices for tap-water decisions. A river advisory after heavy rain is not, by itself, a boil-water advisory or evidence that water from household taps is contaminated.
How Philadelphia is reducing overflow pollution
PWD’s Green City, Clean Waters program is a 25-year plan launched in 2011, with goals scheduled through 2036. It combines green infrastructure with traditional capacity and treatment improvements. Green tools use soil and plants to absorb, evaporate or slowly release runoff before it enters combined sewers.
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| Control approach | Primary purpose | Important practical consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Green infrastructure | Reduce the volume of stormwater entering combined pipes at streets, homes and public sites. | Requires ongoing inspection, vegetation care and maintenance; performance depends on rainfall and site conditions. |
| Traditional capacity and treatment upgrades | Store, convey or treat more combined flow when runoff reaches the sewer system. | Large projects can improve performance during routine wet weather but must be designed for severe storms as well. |
| Operational controls | Maximize available storage and treatment flows and keep equipment functioning. | Proper operation, maintenance and monitoring are continuous obligations, not one-time construction tasks. |
PWD reports more than 2,800 green tools at nearly 800 sites and says the program has kept more than 2.7 billion gallons of polluted water out of rivers. PWD also states that state and federal regulations require at least an 85 percent pollution reduction. These are program and regulatory figures, not a guarantee that any individual storm will produce no overflow.
Regulatory monitoring and public accountability
DEP’s CSO framework requires nine minimum controls. The controls include proper operation and maintenance; maximizing storage and treatment flows; controlling solids and floatables; pollution prevention; public notification; and monitoring. Communities must also maintain long-term control plans intended to meet water-quality standards.
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PWD publishes annual CSO and stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System reports. Its regulatory page lists a Fiscal Year 2026 report updated in October 2026. These reports help show how often systems overflow, what controls were implemented and how performance is being tracked.
What residents should do after heavy rain
- Check current PWD, city or public-health notifications before entering a river, creek or canal.
- Assume contact water may contain sewage-related pathogens when an overflow advisory is active or when heavy rain has just ended.
- Keep children and pets away from shorelines with visible floatables, sewage debris or unusual discoloration.
- Wash with clean water after accidental contact and seek medical advice if illness develops after exposure.
- Use official drinking-water notices—not river conditions—to decide whether tap water is safe to drink.
Home water-test kits cannot replace PWD or regulatory monitoring for a citywide CSO event. They may provide a result for one sample, but they cannot establish safety for an entire river reach or identify every pathogen of concern.
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