The Water Shed

The Water Shed is a community-centered art and education project addressing infrastructure-related flooding in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood—one of the most impacted areas in the country. Germantown sits in the basin of the Wissahickon Valley, where creeks like Wingohocking were buried beneath homes and streets during 19th-century development. Today, these hidden waterways contribute to severe urban flash flooding, as outdated sewer systems are overwhelmed during storms, causing water to back up through storm drains, manholes, and basement plumbing. The results are devastating—damaged homes, health hazards, and in some cases, fatalities.

Launched in November 2024 as part of the Waterway Arts Initiative, The Water Shed is a partnership between Mural Arts Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Water Department, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. Co-curated by Phoebe Bachman and Ryan Strand Greenberg, the project combines art, science, and civic storytelling to make the impact of flooding visible and actionable. Located in a former storefront at 5300 Wayne Avenue, The Water Shed functions as an open resource space for the community—offering drop-in hours (Thursday through Saturday, 12–6pm), participatory art installations, teach-ins, workshops, and flood-prep resources. Resident artists and collaborators include members of the Germantown Flood Task Force, data scientists, and neighbors working together to document, interpret, and respond to flooding.

Programs include Watermark, a participatory series by artists Naomieh Jovin and Kaitlin Pomerantz using photography and handmade paper to surface residents’ flood experiences, and the Science Shop, a neighborhood-based lab that engages community members as paid researchers and resilience educators. The project brings underground infrastructure “above ground,” revealing the emotional, ecological, and historical layers of flooding in Germantown. By using socially engaged art as a framework, The Water Shed creates space for collective reflection, preparedness, and action—connecting public infrastructure with lived experience and building a more just and resilient future.

For more information:  https://www.water-shed.org/