Frequently Asked Questions

Most of the Eastwick neighborhood was built on what was once several thousand acres of wetlands. A failed urban renewal initiative in the 1960s and 1970s included filling in much of the wetland with sediments pumped from the Schuylkill River. Some parts of Eastwick are at or below sea level. During major storms, Darby and Cobbs creeks can overflow and flood Eastwick. This flooding is driven in part by poor planning and overdevelopment upstream and also by the placement of the Clearview Landfill, which was part of the flood plain for the creeks. In addition, flooding can occur as a result of tidal surges from the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers during storms made worse by climate driven sea level rise. See the Urban Flood and Habitat Resilience Feasibility Study StoryMap

The land that the Heinz Refuge has proposed to acquire is owned by the Philadelphia Housing and Development Corporation. The other parcels in question are owned by the City of Philadelphia or City of Philadelphia School District. 

Heinz Refuge is committed to restoring the land to a more natural wetland environment so that it can absorb flooding stormwater; this will include working with the City of Philadelphia to potentially connect the property to Site 3 (located along and generally bounded by Mario Lanza Boulevard, between 81st & 84th Streets) to allow flood waters to flow south to Tinicum Marsh. The Heinz Refuge would work with the Eastwick community to add any amenities.

The Lower Eastwick Public Land Strategy suggests a vision in which about one-third of the eastern side of the 124.5-acre parcel could be developed as commercial space. It also suggests that additional homes might be accommodated on the western portion. However, most of the land is in a FEMA flood hazard zone, so any development will be difficult and costly, and all development will be subject to threats from climate driven sea level rise and storm surges now and into the future.  For more details, see:  Urban Flood and Habitat Resilience Feasibility Study StoryMap

Currently, none of the models for potential redevelopment demonstrate a reduction in flooding, without reduced flooding in other locations. The models showing

a potential reduction in flooding in Eastwick is the ecological restoration models or nature-based solutions, which includes restoring the 124.5-acre parcel as a constructed wetlands, and other similar wetland restoration projects.