Planning and Resiliency

Resilience is defined by the American Planning Association (APA) as “the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.” Factoring resilience into planning efforts is a way to buffer against future stressors.

In water resources, stressors may include topics related to: water quality impairments (pollution), increased water quantity from more frequent and intense precipitation events (stormwater runoff and floods), lack of precipitation (drought), threats to drinking water sources, and waste water management issues, among others.

Water doesn’t follow political boundaries and it is recommended that water resource management tasks be approached more holistically, at the watershed level.  Using collaborative approaches across political boundaries enables the sharing of resources for more cost effective services, supports more resilient communities and can help guide regional growth opportunities. Below are a few resources that are helpful for developing multi-municipal efforts. 

• Pennsylvania’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Handbook
• Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Article XI.
• Council of Governments Director’s Handbook.
• Joint comprehensive planning efforts in Chester County

Watershed planning efforts should include and build upon information from previous planning efforts, where they exist. If you are considering completing watershed planning efforts, or are interested in what has been previously completed, please see our Integrated Water Resource Planning page or Planning Documents page.