The Philadelphia Water Department and the Burden of History

Abstract

This article uses the conceptual framework of path dependence to analyze the challenges Philadelphia faces in maintaining its $25 billion investment in water infrastructure. Much of Philadelphia’s water infrastructure was developed in the context of rapid population growth. Yet the system now serves an area that for the past half century has been depopulating and decreasing in density. This change has required a substantial shift in investment away from the traditional focus on increasing capacity, toward maintenance and monitoring, in an attempt to keep down replacement costs.