The shape of land and water is impacted by both natural forces and human development

In this learning activity students will examine how many of Philadelphia’s natural waterways have become its underground sewer system . They will learn why those changes happened and describe the effects, both positive and negative, on human health and the health of our waterways. This activity will reveal how many of Philadelphia’s  natural creeks and streams were encapsulated into our sewer system infrastructure 

Slide 3: Help students understand that as the population of Philadelphia grew, there was more waste to get rid of. People used the streams to carry the waste they made away. Streams became the ‘conveyor belts’ for trash created in their homes but also for their human waste.  Having open sewer waste was a stinking mess and an unhealthy way to live. The ity needed to find a solution. They decided to encapsulate (enclose) the streams into pipes. Doing so meant they needed to fill in the land around these new pipes.Using the

Activity Slide Deck, Slide 4 and 5 shows a picture of the Mill Creek Sewer being built.

As students how many things they can see in the photo?

What happened to Philadelphia’s Streams?

On slide 6 show students 2 maps.

The first map shows the natural streams and creeks in Philadelphia before the city was developed.

The second map shows the location of the sewer pipes that replaced the natural streams.

Help students understand what an extensive engineering process this was to enclose so many streams into our existing sewers.

On Slide 9 we ask students to consider the intended and unintended consequences of this massive project.

Students may not be familiar with these phrases.  An intended consequence is what we hope will happen based on the plan or choices made. It is the plan.

An unintended consequence is a result that was not expected.

Students will uncover some of the intended and unintended consequences of shaping the course of water in Philadelphia. City engineers built sewers in the areas of the city’s streams and creeks, essentially enclosing the natural waterways with pipes. This often changed the direction of the water as it moved through what was once natural unbuilt land.

A worksheet is provided to help students brainstorm their ideas.

Use the graphic on Slide 10 to help facilitate a discussion to share ideas.

Slide 9 shows an actual photograph taken when the Mill Creek Sewer was being installed.

Display the .jpg version of the picture (found in the materials menu) to view as a class, or provide pairs of students with a copy to view on their own.

Have students give a first impression of what they see in the picture. Note the size of the pipe. Can they tell what it is made out of? Can they identify the work going on to install the pipe?

Next, give students an opportunity to do a CLOSE READING/OBSERVATION of the image. Have them look for evidence of how the land and water way is being changed because of the pipe installation? How is the built environment around the pipe being changed?

Give students an opportunity to share their ideas.

In the next learning experience we explore the consequences,  both intended and unintended, of the changes to the land and water.