Buried under the streets of Philadelphia, a system of sewers that stretches 3,000 miles carries a mix of natural waterways and waste under an unsuspecting population of 1.4 million people. These drainage pipes began their lives as the land’s streams and waterways, but as Philadelphia grew, more and more were given new identities and routes in concrete and brick enclosures.
Researching, tracking, and educating about Philadelphia’s streams and waterways has been Adam Levine’s passion. As a consultant to the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) since 1998, Levine, known to his friends as “the Big Kahuna of Philadelphia Sewers,” has had an obsession with the city’s sewers and urban watersheds.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, at 5 p.m. in the McNeil Science and Technology Center, Levine will share his passion as he presents the 2008 Malis Memorial Lecture “From Creeks to Sewers.” At the behest of Professor of History Dr. David Traxel, Levine will be paying particular attention to Mill Creek, which runs through Clark Park on its way to the Delaware. The lecture is free and open to the public.
In addition to lecturing and research about the city’s waterways, Levine has written numerous articles and books on gardens and gardening. For more information on Adam Levine visit
http://www.phillyh2o.org/adam.htm.
The Bernard J. Malis Memorial Lectureship in Humanities was endowed by Malis, who graduated from PCPS in 1944 with a BS in pharmacy and in 1947 with an MS in pharmacy. He was a consultant in pharmacology and public health, and was Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of the Explorers Club. In 1989, Malis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.