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4
Special Issue for Pittsburgh: Our Rivers
CRADLE OF THE AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Mark Twain once compared a river to a book with endless stories to tell:
"The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book, a book that was a
dead language to the uneducated passenger but which told its mind to me with-
out reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them
with a voice, and it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a
new story to tell every day."
If one river can be the source of a thousand stories, said Mark Nordenberg,
chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, just imagine how many might be told
in this city, where the Allegheny and the Monongahela converge to form the
Ohio. In many respects, he suggested, the story of Pittsburgh is the story of its
nvers.
Hugh Henry Brackenridge, also a man of letters generally credited with
writing the first American novel, though he was better known in this community
for his service as a legislator, member of the state supreme court, and founder of
the University of Pittsburgh beheld the settlement at the confluence of the
Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers and was transfixed by a powerful and pre-
scient vision of its future. "This town," he said in the 1780s, "must be a place of
great manufactory indeed, the greatest on the continent or in the world."
Pittsburgh did become the cradle of the American industrial revolution,
Nordenberg said, and its rivers played a huge role in its growth. By the early
1800s, boat making was the city's most important industry; the world's first
steamboat, in fact, was built here to make river travel easier.
*This chapter was prepared from the transcript of the meeting by Steven J. Marcus as the rappor-
teur. The discussions were edited and organized around major themes to provide a more readable
summary and to eliminate duplication of topics.
20
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SPECIAL ISSUE FOR PITTSBURGH: OUR RIVERS
The growth of other industries
followed. As Franklin Toker noted
in his book Pittsburgh: An Urban
Portrait the city gave (or rather,
sold) the world its first mass-
produced oil, steel, aluminum, and
glass. It created, through Heinz, the
world' s first hygienically packaged
food, and Westinghouse pioneered
the generation of AC electricity to
supplement Edison' s DC.
21
If one river can be the source of a thousand
stories, just imagine how many might be told
in this city, where the Allegheny and the
Monongahela converge to form the Ohio. In
many respects, the story of Pittsburgh is the
story of its rivers
Mark Nordenberg
There was another side, of course, to Pittsburgh's industrial might the high
ecological price it paid as the capital of American manufacturing. Though long-
time residents might still remember the city' s street lights having to be lit in the
middle of the day, Pittsburgh has made significant progress in overcoming that
part of its legacy. Focused attention also has been paid to water quality and to
nver use.
To some extent, those changes are tied to the transformation of the regional
economy. In traveling Pittsburgh's riverbanks today, one sees high-technology
developments of the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center, and Carnegie Mellon University where steel mills used to be.
"It has been said that rivers are highways that move on, and bear us wither
we wish to go," said Nordenberg. Today, the Pittsburgh community is charting a
new course that it hopes will be not only be economically productive but ecolog-
ically responsible and environmentally healthful. "Success will depend in no
small measure," he concluded, "on clean rivers used in ways that make them one
of our most important regional assets and amenities."
After Nordenberg's introduction, a panel of speakers discussed the pollution
of Pittsburgh's rivers, the causes, and specific ways to clean them up, as well as
plans for the reclamation and revitalization of the city's riverfronts to better
serve its people.
POLLUTED RIVERS, SEWAGE OVERFLOWS
In the spirit of Joel Tarr's earlier point that Pittsburghers should get "beyond
celebration," Jared Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, noted the
need for major action to improve the water quality of the city's rivers. While
they are cleaner than they used to be, he observed, they're "not as clean as we
think they are." Indeed, there is still a long way to go.
For example "river advisories" (official notices that the water is unsafe for
human contact) have been in effect since 1994 for an average of 37 percent of
the summer recreational season. In the most recent two years for which data are
available (2000 and 2001), the seasonal average has been 50 percent that is,
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22
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iffy i..- i,3-' d-~..~-~: .,
CSo om~.~S
M~:~g $- ·
ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN POSTINDUSTRIAL CITIES
: :;
FIGURE 4-1 Water quality problems are caused by a number of sources, including:
combined sewer overflows (CSOs), malfunctioning on-lot septic systems, and homes
without sewage treatment of any kind. Contamination from these sources flow down-
stream and across jurisdictional boundaries. SOURCE: Southwestern Pennsylvania Water
and Sewer Infrastructure Project Steering Committee, 2002. Reprinted with permission.
river advisories were issued on half of the days between mid-May and mid-
September.
The pollution of Pittsburgh's rivers has three basic causes (see Figure 4-1),
Cohon said, and the leader by far is overflow from combined-sewer systems
(which carry sewage and storm water runoff alike). During rainstorms the flow
into the system increases enormously, overwhelming the capacity of the pipes to
carry it or the treatment plants to treat it. Consequently, much of the system's
load, including raw (untreated) sewage, is dumped into the rivers.
With 414 outfalls, Pittsburgh's Allegheny County leads all of the nation's
other counties in combined-sewer overflows (CSOs; see Figure 4-2~. The state
of Pennsylvania is a "leader" as well, topping out at 1,671 Michigan, by con-
trast, has 725, and New Jersey has 307.
Pittsburgh's CSOs, moreover, are often activated even under dry conditions;
because this urban sewage system is old and degraded, water seeping into the
pipes increases flow beyond the level for which the system was designed, creat-
ing "uncontrolled overflows."
The second reason for Pittsburgh's polluted rivers is failing septic systems.
This is a particular problem here, Cohon said, because the region is cursed with
bad soil with regard to its suitability for septic systems. By federal standards, in
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SPECIAL ISSUE FOR PITTSBURGH: OUR RIVERS
States with the Most
Combined Sewer Overflows
Rank State
1 Pennsylvania
Ohio
3 New York
4 Indiana
5 lilinois
6 Michigan
7 Massachusetts 417
8 Kentucky 369
9 New Jersey 307
10 Maine 277
csos , /1
1,671
1,507 \
1,075 \ a.
944 \ -
773
725
23
~ _
C_ . .
ommun~t~es
with CSOs
/
LIZ)
~7
755
CSOs in
SW PA
FIGURE 4-2 Pennsylvania ranks number one in the United States for the most combined
sewage overflows (CSO). These overflows are predominantly concentrated in southwest-
ern Pennsylvania. State level CSO information based in part on unofficial EPA estimates,
1998. SOURCE: Southwestern Pennsylvania Water and Sewer Infrastructure Project
Steering Committee, 2002. Reprinted with permission.
fact, a very small fraction of the land is suitable for septic systems. Furthermore,
it is estimated that about half of the existing septic systems are "failed" and
there are some 300,000 of them.
Finally, the third reason: 27,000 local homes have no sewage connection
whatsoever! Strictly speaking, this has been illegal for 33 years, and it should
simply not exist anywhere in America today, especially not in an urbanized area
that considers itself sophisticated, Cohon said.
These three major sources especially the first two present a complicated
regional problem. For one thing, the locations of CSO outfalls, failing septic
tanks, and drinking-water intakes are all interspersed.
It is also a problem with high stakes: expensive to fix yet expensive not to
fix. It bears directly on the Pittsburgh area's ability to develop economically a
very high priority in this region. Within many local jurisdictions, there are "tap-
in restrictions" additional main sewer lines or laterals (the pipes that run from
buildings to the main line) are forbidden because the system is already over-
taxed. The result is that nothing new can be built in these locales.
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24
ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN POSTINDUSTRIAL CITIES
Solving this problem will be a major undertaking in terms of regional inter-
governmental cooperation, not only because this region has never attempted
such an effort before but because it faces a particular challenge in doing so. The
Pittsburgh area's fragmentation is renowned; locals acknowledge that the num-
bers of police departments, school districts, and so on, usually exceed those of
any other region of this size. The same is true, perhaps by even greater margins,
when it comes to water and sewage. The 11-county Southwest Pennsylvania
region has 492 individual entities that provide water or sewage service to the
population. These entities, together with the almost 600 local political juris-
dictions and more than one million households, will need to cooperate on an
unprecedented scale.
It is also going to be expensive, said Cohon. He and his colleagues in the
Allegheny Conference on Community Development (self-described as "a private
leadership group dedicated to improving the quality of life and economy of the
southwestern Pennsylvania region") have estimated a total cost of $10 billion,
with the biggest part being some $8 billion to repair and expand the existing
sewer and sewage-treatment system. For example, storage needs to be designed
into the system so that when it rains there is a way to hold the water together
with the raw sewage rather than discharging it, and then treat it (with the aid of
enhanced capacity) after the storm surge passes.
These costs can be reduced in several ways, he said, beginning with regional
cooperation there are substantial economies of scale in sewage collection and
treatment. Building one big treatment plant instead of two smaller ones, for
example, can save a great deal of money.
Savings are also possible through use of the latest technology. Typical costs
to install a lateral and roughly half of the region's existing laterals are broken
and need to be replaced run from $5,000 to $10,000. But new so-called "trench-
less" technology obviates the need to dig up a lawn it is faster, less disruptive,
and relatively inexpensive (on the order of $1,000~.
Another approach is to increase the revenues generated by Pittsburghers'
sewage bills certainly an unpopular message that no politician would wish to
convey. Cohon maintained, however, that the region's homeowners actually pay
less for sewage services at present than do their counterparts in most others parts
of the country.
But even if the Pittsburgh area does reduce costs through regional coopera-
tion and the latest technology, and it increases revenues through higher rates, a
major gap will still remain that can only be filled by funds from the federal and
state governments.
To coordinate these three approaches and deal with the remaining shortfall,
the Allegheny Conference on Community Development has been working to
create a virtual regional body the Watershed Alliance for the Three Rivers
Region (WATRR) that would provide critical services from three existing
organizations:
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SPECIAL ISSUE FOR PITTSBURGH: OUR RIVERS
25
· Education and technical assistance through 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Inc.,
a pilot project funded by the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Goal- and priority-setting through the Southwest Pennsylvania Commis-
sion, which is representative of the entire region, as its board consists
primarily of the commissioners or county executives of each of the counties.
· Advocacy that is, strong representation in Harrisburg and Washington-
through the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce/Southwest Penn-
sylvania Growth Alliance.
.
The Conference has also convinced the National Research Council to under-
take a national study, using Pittsburgh as the focal point, on the issue of
combined-sewer overflows and how to address it regionally. The NRC accepted
the challenge and created a committee of national experts that has been meeting
now for about a year, with one year left to go.
The resulting report will be very important not just for this region but for the
entire nation, Cohon said, as will the efforts of the region' s organizations, experts,
and citizens.
In the near term, he suggested that a number of steps could be implemented.
These include:
· help regional organizations take responsibility for implementation,
· launch a long-term program of public education and outreach,
· demonstrate how to apply best technologies and approaches to address
specific problems,
· get key studies underway,
· seek public and private assistance (e.g., funding and policy change, regu-
latory support).
"If you can solve the problem in Pittsburgh," he concluded, "you can do it
anywhere."
RIVERS AS OUR FUTURE
The charge of the Riverlife Task Force, according to Executive Director
Lisa Schroeder, is to create a master plan and vision for Pittsburgh's rivers,
coordinate what has been a series of individual development projects, and "make
Pittsburgh's riverfronts among the most spectacular in the world."
In pursuit of these goals, the mayoralty appointed Task Force consisting
of 46 civic leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors is taking two
mutually reinforcing approaches. First, in trying to set a new paradigm for
involving the public in the planning process, it has held over 120 meetings
ranging in size from get-togethers in community-halls or church basements to
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26
ENSURING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN POSTINDUSTRIAL CITIES
full-scale regional sessions in the convention center. Second, the Task Force has
convened the owners of riverfront property; remarkably, there are but six major
riverfront-land owners within the study area. Engaging them is critical, Schroeder
pointed out, "because we are working to create a public domain on land that is
not in all instances public."
Basically, the Riverlife Task Force is working to ensure that the coming
together of Pittsburgh's three rivers their confluence functions as the center
of the region, she said. "This river joins our communities. It can become the
thread of our public space and the way in which we tie all amenities and all of
our public domain together."
In our public-meeting process, Schroeder noted, "there was no more consis-
tent and powerful message than that people want connections to the rivers. They
want to get to the rivers, they want to move along the rivers, they want to touch
the rivers."
But trying to eliminate impediments to the riverfronts, given the city's
topography, is no mean challenge. The simple fact that much of this region's
flatland lies alongside the rivers means that it is layered over by a complex web
of elevated highways, railroad tracks, and parking lots. In effect, Pittsburgh's
best and most valuable real estate is populated by vehicles.
The crux of the Task Force's proposal is to create a public park, Three
Rivers Park, where community life could be centered in the heart of the con-
fluence at the heart of the basin with a continuous rim of green, open, public
space around the edges, and commercial development flanking the sides that
contribute to the creation of that public domain. Working within, at a minimum,
the 50-foot setback that exists under current zoning regulations, the space would
be linked along the shoreline, across the bridges, and through water landings-
across the water. The existing Point Park, at the rivers' confluence, would be the
center of the extended park, which of course would include the water itself.
Schroeder cited the Task Force' s nine guiding principles that underlie its plan:
.
Organize riverfront investment in relationship to the shared vision of
Three Rivers Park as Pittsburgh' s premier public domain.
· Reinforce the power of place by revealing and seeking inspiration in
history.
· Enhance the shoreline experience and the range of uses encouraged to
locate along the riverbanks.
· Increase connections to the rivers, especially from the neighborhoods,
and endeavor to create new neighborhoods near the rivers.
Activate the water sheet itself by incorporating diverse uses while re-
maining cognizant of potential conflicts among them.
· Celebrate the City of Bridges through lighting and pedestrian amenities
and by incorporating them into the river trail system.
.
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SPECIAL ISSUE FOR PITTSBURGH: OUR RIVERS
27
· Improve regional connections and the continuity of public green space
along the rivers' edges.
· Consolidate transportation and minimize industrial impediments at the
rivers' edges.
· Incorporate the values of urban ecology and sustainability into the imple-
mentation of the plan.
"We are now working to define what that public edge can and should look
like, what the landscaping framework can be, what kind of connections can pass
through private development to link the public realm to the private, and what
kind of connections can become public links from the landscape into the rivers
and the park (see Figure 4-3)," said Schroeder. The idea is to "create, at the end
of the day, a place that is unforgettable, that is Pittsburgh, and that contributes to
the human health of our environment."
.
::~: ~ : :: ~ : ~ : :: i: i: i: :~ ~ :: : ::: -,r>Y.~.~.y.
·.~ ~ ~ ~~ .~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --, -. ~~ ~~ ~ T~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~3Y15~S'~--
~:~: ~ ~ ~~ :: :: : ::~:
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:: ~ ~: - : ~
Aft: :::::: ~ Aft:
:~ ~
~ ~ :::: ~ ~ ~ : I: :.
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FIGURE 4-3 The map reflects topography natural landscapes waterscapes and public
connections to the water. The arrows show important public byways and entries into the
park system and the asterisks denote a series of water landings the edge places where
public uses may reinforce each other. SOURCE: Riverlife Task Force. Reprinted with
. .
permlsslon.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
public domain
