Subjects Pollution

Includes pollution caused by the direct dumping of factory or industrial wastes into rivers and streams, the dumping of industrial wastes and sewage through the city's sewer system, combined sewer overflows during wet weather, and polluted stormwater carried into streams by the city's stormwater drainage pipes.

Black-and-white image of an ornate white building on a riverbank with trees behind it

A new book, more than 40 years in the making, about an iconic Philadelphia building

Fairmount Water Works: The Surprising History of an American Landmark

Two views on the water supply, 1939

Rebirth of the Rivers: Water History Video 3

Map Lover’s Monday: Fairmount Park, 1869

Photo of four men standing on the banks of the Schuylkill River on the last day of the Schuylkill Interceptor, December 20, 1956

Last gasp of the Schuylkill Interceptor, December 20, 1956

Dobson FLP

You would not have wanted to drink it: Philadelphia’s water supply in 1884

Black-and-white diagram showing streets and the Little Tacony Creek

Frankford Creek Watershed: A historical overview of the Philadelphia section

Color image of a grassy field with trees and buildings surrounding it and white lines drawn on the grass mimicking the path of a creek.

Drawing Dock Creek

Image shows three bottles of water, one clear, one dark and one with sediment floating in it.

Bottled vs. Tap in 1906

Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks of Frederic Graff Jr.,Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Department: Part 1, 1854-1857

Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks of Frederick Graff Jr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Department. Part 2: 1858-1871