Items

Historic resources from our archives - images, maps, documents, and more.

Hands holding a silver river herring fish

River herring from the Schuylkill

PWD's Lance Butler holds a flathead catfish caught in the Schuylkill River

PWD’s Lance Butler with an invasive flathead catfish

PWD's Joe Perillo with a large striped bass

Joe Perillo with a large Schuylkill striper in 2015

Diagram of the Philadelphia Water Department's wastewater treatment process

Wastewater Treatment Process diagram

Black and white image of Philadelphia civic and business leaders watching the start of operations at the new Northeast Sewage Treatment Plant, April 6, 1951

Northeast Sewage Plant opening, 1951

Centerfold of 1955 brochure depicting the Southeast Sewage Treatment Works

Southeast Sewage Treatment Works diagram, 1955

City officials tour new interceptor sewer, 1953

1914 map showing the plan for the collection and treatment of sewage in Philadelphia.

Plan for the Collection, Treatment and Disposal of Sewage, 1914

The Pennypack Sewage Treatment Works in 1914

Pennypack Sewage Treatment Works, 1914

Spring Garden Sewage Experiment Station, used to test water filtration methods

Outside Sprinkling Filters, Spring Garden Sewage Experiment Station, 1911

Devereaux Street Sewer on the cover of Philadelphia magazine, 1911

Devereaux Street Sewer, Philadelphia magazine, 1911

Two bottles of water from a river, one dark with pollution and one clear after filtration

Water Before and After Roxborough