Philadelphia is planning to use new flood monitoring technology in Eastwick and other neighborhoods
The Eastwick neighborhood, which has been affected by flooding, is being targeted for flood gauges and other monitoring tools.
Block captain Brenda Whitfield, 78, barely contained her emotion as new flood monitoring technology was unveiled Saturday morning in the Eastwick section of Southwest Philadelphia.
The longtime resident still remembers having to check nearby Cobbs Creek, holding hands with her two young grandchildren. It wasn’t quality time; it was a survival mechanism developed by years of learning to distrust the rain.
“With other people, rain puts you to sleep,” Whitfield said. “It gives us anxiety, because that means that when it rains, we are going to get flooded.”
So, when the water looked high and turbulent — or worse, made its way to a light pole halfway to the rowhouses on their block — the kids knew what to do: run up and down the nearby streets, knocking on neighbors’ doors, screaming, “It’s time to move your cars and bring your stuff out of the basement!”
Inadvertently, they had become a flood alarm for the people of Eastwick. But, nothing prepared them for the devastation that Tropical Storm Isaias brought in 2020.
Clothing, piles of damp carpet, furniture, and other household items appeared on the block in the aftermath of the storm.
“We were unprepared,” Whitfield said. “The flood came without a warning and I realized we have to help ourselves because nobody else was coming to help us.”
Following the devastation, the local community organized marches and pushed constantly for a government response, she said. They were heard by the city and state representatives.
After six years, and a couple of prevention projects were delayed by a Trump administration cut to flooding protection grants, the people of Eastwick are finally getting the first of multiple flood gauges and cameras to be installed citywide for flood monitoring.
How the flood monitoring works
This notification pilot project uses a small number of flood sensors and cameras to get real-time information about how likely floods are to happen, said Dominick Mireles, Philadelphia’s deputy managing director for community safety.
“Our goal now is to take in the data, to learn more about what it takes to manage a system like this, and to continue to assess where the flooding risk is across the city,” Mireles said.
The project began in 2024, taking about two years to reach completion, Mireles said.
Among the data gathered by the gauges will be the water level, barometric pressure, rainfall, and temperature, which will allow the city’s Office of Emergency Management to monitor conditions.
Residents will be able to see this data through a new website: flood-monitoring.phila.gov, allowing them to make informed decisions, said Erin Mossop, the city’s alerts and warning coordinator.
By being able to check the flooding chances in their area, residents can take steps to prepare, such as making sure “your medication and your paperwork are together, knowing when to move your car, or even deciding to stay elsewhere until the storm has passed,” Mossop said.
The website also provides additional resources, offering a flood terminology glossary, preparation resources, the ability to sign up for emergency alerts, and more.
For longtime resident, Ronald T. Presley, 78, whose loved ones had their home flooded in 2020, this means peace of mind and a better quality of life.
He doesn’t live close enough to the creek to constantly worry about floods, but the notion that the water is being monitored gives him hope for other issues the flooding has caused.
“I feel more relaxed because they are in the process of doing something about it,” Presley said. “I just don’t want to have to worry about mold and mildew, because when there is a lot of water, there is a lot of hazardous waste.”
But the improvements for flood prevention in Eastwick don’t end with the monitoring.
The flood monitoring system is one of 11 projects planned in the upcoming years, said Mireles.
Flood barriers are planned for Eastwick in 2027. But other proposed projects await funding.
Regardless of the wait, just having the flood monitoring system brings a sense of ease, said neighbor Fadela Djenas, whose children practice karate at the Eastwick Recreation Center, near Cobbs Creek.
“I feel like my kids are safer now because before every time it [rained], I could only think about what is going to happen,” said Djenas, 46, who added that she has “peace of mind now knowing that this exists.”
