Trail network grows, flash floods hit the city, & more

Catch up on the latest sustainability news:

Severe weather causes flash flooding. After record-high temperatures likely impacted by climate change, intense storms led to flash floods throughout the Philadelphia region over the July 4th holiday weekend. Parts of Kelly Drive were closed, and residents and businesses reported flooded basements. City officials in Camden said that the city had not seen flooding like this since Hurricane Sandy. NBC 10 Philadelphia

Board approves trails projects. Last week, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Board approved 17 projects to continue the development of the Circuit Trails network. The Circuit Trails is a network of multi-use trails in the Greater Philadelphia area, including surrounding counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

PECO strike ends. PECO union members have reached a tentative agreement with the electric utility company after a three-day strike during which severe storms led to power outages for thousands of PECO customers. The union’s president, Larry Anastasi, is calling the tentative agreement a “historic win” that will restore pensions, retirement medical coverage, and guarantee annual raises. “”Without our labor, our expertise and our experience, PECO saw widespread outages that they were slow to address. We are not easily replaced,” said Anastasi. Philly Voice

Popular swimming destination remains contaminated. Devils Pool in the Wissahickon is a popular spot to escape the summer heat in Philadelphia. Its water, however, may contain bacteria from sewage runoff, especially after large stormwater surges like those from this past weekend. Visitors also leave trash behind, which volunteers try to pick up as often as they can. Billy Penn

Shapiro announces new wildlife conservation effort. The new Pennsylvania Wildlife Connectivity Work Group will bring several agencies together to improve wildlife protection in the Commonwealth. The group will address Pennsylvania’s habitat fragmentation and establish wildlife corridors – strips of undeveloped land connecting wildlife habitats.

Cover photo: Deer crossing street, by Gennady Zakharin on Unsplash

Angie Bacha

Angie Bacha (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based solutions journalist and recent Erasmus Mundus Master's in Journalism, Media and Globalisation student in Aarhus, Denmark. Previously, she worked as a student journalist at Community College of Philadelphia and Editorial Intern at Resolve Philly. Some other hats she has worn: Human Rights and Theatre Studies graduate; teaching artist; carpenter; AmeriCorps volunteer; and rock climbing gym shift supervisor.