Mill Creek was a river that ran under a large portion of the city until it was turned into a drainage pipe in the mid 1800's. Ever since the pipe was built it has been causing trouble all over the West Philadelphia region. One of the most dangerous problems was the incident where about three houses sunk into the ground. The residents of these houses were evacuated to Mayer Sulzberger Middle School. .

Mill Creek is a large pipe line that runs under a large section of the West Philadelphia area. The problem with the pipe happens when it rains. Immense amounts of water clogs the drains, eventually causing the water to exceed the drain's water limit. the water overflows into the streets creating puddles over twelve inches deep to linger at corners. One of the reasons why the puddles are formed is because people throw trash into the gutters and sewer grates.

My class section 281 was divided into six groups. Each group consisted of four to six students. We all had different sections of the neighborhood that we had to rebuild. For example, one person would build a garden at Forty Seventh and Aspen and the other would rebuild Forty Eighth and Fairmount Avenue

I have devised a plan to reduce the amounts of flooding. I think we could hire the Philadelphia sanitation department to clean out the drains and put the flooding to a stop for a couple of days. This would the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) enough time to build a separate pipe to drain the gutters and sewer grates. Since our main goal is to get rid of the water, our first objective would be to remove the water from the street corners. After this is accomplished we can have the rainwater drain into a small garden. Instead of having the water drained into the sewer system, why not recycle it? After the new drainage pipe is built, the excess water could be transported to a garden at Forty Seveth and Aspen Streets. During the transport of the water, it will be filtered just before it reaches the garden. The water could be used to help fertilize parks and gardens all over West Philadelphia.

The garden I plan to design will consist of six sets of stone tables for both resting and eating. There will also be a small play area set aside for babies to be entertained so that parents can relax. Inside the garden will be a diner, a travelling ice cream man, a small pond, flowers, shrubbery, and umbrellas for shade on hot summer days. Inside the garden will be a recreation center along the bottom left section of the gate. This building will contain a first aid office, vending machines and a coach to sign people up for different sports activities. Building these new pipes will benefit many of the tenants of the West Philadelphia region.

"Instead of having the water drain into the sewer system why don't we recycle it?"