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Murphy Rec Center shares a special distinction with only one other city field — its own irrigation system. Fox Chase in the Northeast and the lot at Fourth and Shunk streets were installed without City funding. The latter was instead put in and paid for by the Murphy Recreation Advisory Council two years ago.
For Councilman-at-large Jim Kenney, who chairs the Committee on the Environment, having kids play at facilities he refers to as the "dust bowl" needed to be addressed.
Kenney said he spent about five years trying to get Murphy — home of the Two Street Warriors Catholic Youth Organization football team — in a playable condition since he was embarrassed when spectators had to shield their eyes from flying dust.
"I’m not happy with the condition with many of our athletic fields throughout the city — many in South Philly also," Kenney said. "They get constant use. Many do not have actual sprinkler systems and, if they do, they’re often inoperable. In a wet summer like we had this year, a lot of the stormwater runs off and is lost. Not only does it run off and get lost, but it runs off into people’s basements."
Sept. 1, the councilman held a hearing regarding the potential installation of irrigation systems to all Department of Recreation fields. It could transform the 275 plots — including about 10 in South Philly — by increasing their quality and reducing their need for maintenance. About a year ago, Kenney said he learned of a system made from recycled material used across the country that is installed under playing fields, including ones in Arizona and Southern California, as well as many college fields.
"It allows the retention of storm water to be utilized at a later date for irrigation of the field," Kenney said.
Representatives from the Recreation Department, Philadelphia Water Department and Office of Sustainability testified at the meeting on how the systems would be beneficial. The City is awaiting word from the rec and water departments on the top-10 fields in the worst condition and the top-10 most frequently flooded, respectively, as possible candidates for a pilot program. Some local sites should be in the mix, Kenney said.
"If we try to marry those two, we can solve two problems," he said.
The department’s sports and athletics staff oversees 30 programs a year that serves about 45,000 residents, recreation department Commissioner Susan Slawson said in her testimony.
If the irrigation system were implemented, it would result in healthier fields and improved conditions and safety, as well as encouraging more usage due to the aforementioned reasons. Without it, internal staff will need to maintain each field. Some advisory councils, such as Murphy’s, have raised funds to assist in this process, but with 261 baseball diamonds, only 62 were restored each year during the past three, costing $220,000 per season.
However, it also would mean higher costs in some areas. The need for more frequent mowing, replacing parts, monitoring water consumption, training staff and obtaining more money from the City would need to be addressed, Slawson said in her testimony. A citywide installation would equate to about $11 million, according to the Department of Recreation. To install pipes, pumps and sprinkler heads, it’s estimated to run about 95 cents per square foot and about $40,000 for each field.
An additional $3,000 would cover the water and sewage connection unless the building could not support the system, which would require a water service line along with a meter and backflow prevention system costing $30,000. Monthly fees could add up to more than $1,000.
According to the Fairmount Park Commission, its best irrigation systems cost about $1,500 yearly per field. That price goes up $3,500 more to fix a broken pump, Slawson said.
A stormwater management system, a more comprehensive installation that includes a passive irrigation system, could run anywhere from $240,00 to $384,000 per field.
"Further study indicates that this type of system would be cost-effective during new construction as it requires the entire field to be excavated, a liner system installed, piping and sand inclusion," Slawson said.
Pilot projects could be eligible for some federal stimulus money, but with the current budget crisis, there is no City funds for these projects, Kenney said, adding he would like to get a pilot or two under way in the spring. Therefore, the project would rely on outside money — possibly a foundation, Kenney said.
Currently, many city fields are in poor condition, as only a few are reconditioned yearly. These proposed systems would irrigate the field, eliminating the constant need for maintenance and repair, in addition to designing a way to possibly move the stormwater away from residential properties, Kenney said.
"That would not solve their basement problems, but would take potentially 80 to 90 gallons of water per system out of the sewer system and into this passive irrigation system," Kenney said.
The Water Department is in the midst of executing its 20-year plan to reduce combined sewer overflows that awaits approval by the Environmental Protection Agency. The department expects a decision in the next few months. This is especially vital to South Philly, as the entire community has combined piping. Dr. Christopher Crockett, director of planning and research for the Water Department, also testified at the hearing and estimated 1.4 square miles of the city consists of rec centers with .33 of that being on an impervious surface.
"These areas potentially contribute 32 million cubic feet or 239 million gallons of runoff per year to the city’s storm sewer system and represent an opportunity for management," Crockett said.
If the rec center were to meet the department’s stormwater management water quality requirement and allow the first inch of runoff to infiltrate where possible, runoff into streams that causes overflow would be reduced, the stormwater could be reused for irrigation and the rec center could receive partial credit on its stormwater bill, Crockett said.
This could relieve parts of South Philly, such as the area surrounding Columbus Square Park, 12th and Wharton streets, where flooding occurs, Kenney said.
"Then we could install a passive irrigation system that would be connected to the stormwater system," he said. "You could funnel the stormwater from the basement to the collection system and have a nice green field and a nice dry basement."
