Philadelphia Water Department Regulations Update: New Stormwater Exemptions Effective July 1, 2026
New exemptions from certain stormwater requirements benefiting developers, contractors and residential property owners are coming July 1, 2026.
06.22.26
The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has released new amendments to their Stormwater Regulations, which would, among other things, create an exemption from certain stormwater requirements for Small Residential Developments. A Small Residential Development (SRD) is a project proposing less than one acre (43,560 square feet) of earth disturbance and consisting of buildings used exclusively as single-family homes or duplexes. SRDs would be exempt from Water Quality, Channel Protection, Flood Control and Public Health and Safety Release Rate requirements. Additionally, the footprint of an SRD building is subtracted from the amount of earth disturbance area calculation as well as the post-construction stormwater management requirements.
There are also additional new exemptions in the revised Regulations from Water Quality, Channel Protection, Flood Control and Public Health and Safety Release Rate requirements for the following:
- Development that proposes less than 15,000 square feet of earth disturbance.
- Demolition, which includes partial or entire razing or destruction of a building, structure, site or object.
- Stormwater Retrofits, which include voluntary rehabilitation and/or installation of Stormwater Management Practices on a property to better manage stormwater runoff.
It should be noted, however, that an exemption from stormwater management requirements described above does not alleviate any applicable erosion and sediment control requirements.
The proposed revisions to the PWD Regulations would take effect July 1, 2026. Please contact our zoning and land use team if you need assistance evaluating how these revisions impact an active project application or navigating a new project review with PWD in light of these changes.
Co-authors Katherine Missimer and Ron Patterson are partners in the zoning and land use practice at Klehr Harrison.