The Nine Mile Run Watershed
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Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI)
in Wilkinsburg – WSRP Phase I

Overview

UpstreamPgh is creating a new plan for the Nine Mile Run Watershed, and we want your help!

This plan will address water related issues such as urban flooding and the health of the Nine Mile Run stream in Frick Park, with a focus on tackling the environmental injustices that exist in the watershed.

The Nine Mile Run Watershed includes all the land that funnels stormwater into the Nine Mile Run stream. This includes all of Wilkinsburg, and parts of East Hills, Homewood, Point Breeze, Edgewood, Squirrel Hill and Swissvale. 

History

Back in 1998, a group of artists, scientists, and residents came together to save a stream impacted by decades of industrial waste. This led to the formation of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association and the country’s largest urban stream restoration, which was completed in 2006 in partnership with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the City of Pittsburgh!

Thanks to their bold vision, Nine Mile Run is in a much healthier state today, supporting wildlife and outdoor recreation. But it’s still plagued by sewage, trash, and pollutants that flow off our city streets and underground through storm drains. Meanwhile, neighborhoods in the watershed face flooding issues and basement backups during heavy rains. With major socioeconomic disparities amongst the communities in the watershed, those impacts aren’t felt evenly. It’s time for a new plan!

Identifying Solutions

One solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change and aging infrastructure is green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). GSI is a way to capture stormwater when it rains to keep it out of our streets and homes, while also preventing it from carrying pollution into a stream or overloading the city’s storm-sewage system. One outcome of our plan will identify new places to build GSI along with other possible solutions including policy change and incentives for stormwater management.