Discussion with Adam Levine

As a kid, Adam Levine was heavily influenced by the drought in the 80’s and joined the energy club in school which met to discuss the worlds energy problems. From that point on, he has felt a deep connection to the natural world around him and has made it’s protection his life’s work. These days, amongst other things, Adam is a consultant and historian for the Philadelphia Water Department(PWD). He played a seminal role in the creation of their Interpretive Center, an educational facility located at the Water Works center along the Schuykill River. I met with Adam last Thursday to get a better understanding of some of the more pressing issues that the City of Brotherly Love faces in regards to its water supply. While we discussed everything from the Marcellus Shale fiasco to the newly-appointed Water Commissioner of Philadelphia, Howard Neukrug, there were several specific topics which seemed most relevant.



First and foremost was the issue of pollution. The sewer system (specifically the “combined sewers”) in Philadelphia can get overworked during heavy rains at which point they actually overflow back into the rivers. This water has not had the opportunity to be filtered and processed yet which makes it a strong contaminant. Heavy water usage by residents can inflate this problem when they use their toilets and showers during these times of poor weather. He half-joked when he mused that it would be great if residents postponed their showers and flushings till after the weather passed. Unfortunately, he concedes, residents are rarely informed about this type of situation. This underscores another issue he brought up, that of awareness.

While Philadelphia is surrounded by two converging rivers, Adam believes that few of the residents here have little to no understanding as to where their water comes from and where it goes. This is problematic because it reinforces an attitude of “flush it and forget it”, as he put it, referring to excessive water use. Such a perspective also contributes to a willingness by many residents to dump anything and everything down their drains. A behavior which makes cleaning and processing the water more difficult and I would imagine, more expensive. For me, it seemed like this was a huge oversight on the part of the water provider and a huge opportunity for our project. Could awareness alone create cleaner water by curbing negative behaviors like dumping harmful chemicals down the drain?

Through our discussion, he pointed out that the PWD really doesn’t have a way to deal with this issue of connecting the users with their supply. He wondered, “What if there was an audio component to the water meter?” Because the meters are now read remotely by using a wireless technology of some sort, he saw an opportunity for a resident to receive their usage data via a cell phone. It would seem like a logical and cost effective move on the supplier’s part since the system’s architecture is already in place. Pushing that data into cell phones also opens the door to engaging children in the interaction due to their high use of cell technology. Since many problems regarding our watershed are yet to come, training the population that will probably have to deal with these populations seems like a smart move.

In the end, what I got most from my meeting with Adam Levine is the need on the part of the Philadelphia Water Department to connect with their customer’s in a more effective manner. If this supplier were to have this ability to communicate, then tackling the issues of today as well as those which are further down the road are a lot easier to handle.