As a wastewater treatment authority, CCMUA’s responsibility to the residents of Camden County is to clean the flow of sewage coming into its system. Stormwater that enters the Camden City (and Gloucester City) sewer systems (by original design) is a large contributor to the flow into our wastewater collection system during rain events.
As a consequence, it’s to the benefit of all County residents for Camden City stormwater to be diverted from the system before it enters. One cost-effective way to accomplish this is by establishing green spaces to absorb the rainfall and keep it from entering the city system–and ultimately the County system. In recent years, the CCMUA–in cooperation with the County, City, and other government and nonprofit partners–has encouraged preservation, restoration, and development of green spaces to absorb stormwater. This has included several major public park installations, which–besides improving the performance of the sewer system–offer additional benefits by providing healthy and attractive amenities to our host community, and to all County residents.
Cramer Hill Nature Preserve
The former site of a Camden City wastewater treatment plant, this property lay largely untouched for decades in the northern reaches of the city, and its reclamation by nature inspired its designation as a protected natural area. The Cramer Hill Nature Preserve, in the Cramer Hill community, will remain an undeveloped haven for wildlife, plants, and trees. A visitor can follow the walking trail along the Preserve’s edge to approach the Delaware River Back Channel that separates the mainland from the future Petty’s Island state preserve.
Gateway Park
With the Cooper River on one side and busy Admiral Wilson Boulevard on the other, Gateway Park opened in March 2019 as the Camden-Pennsauken area’s newest public open space.
The 25-acre linear park runs along the Cooper River, a Delaware River tributary, for half a mile. It provides the community with access to nature and outdoor recreation like walking, bicycling, jogging, bird watching and fishing.
Michael J. Doyle Park & Fishing Pier
Originally opened in 2002 to open a path for the public to reach the waterfront, Millenium Pier was renamed the Michael J. Doyle Park and Fishing Pier in 2009 in honor of the long time spiritual icon of the Waterfront South neighborhood, pastor of nearby Sacred Heart Church. The pier is located at the western end of Jackson Street in Camden, at the Delaware River.
Phoenix Park
This five acre riverfront park was created for the residents of South Camden. In a multi-phase project, the abandoned industrial building was removed, and the property was cleaned to meet environmental standards and landscaped and vegetated as a new public park that now collects rainwater to reduce neighborhood flooding while providing green space for the community to enjoy access to the Delaware River.
Waterfront South Connections Trail Loop
Connecting the public park facilities surrounding the CCMUA’s facility is the Waterfront South Connections Trail Loop. Linking the parks, the Delaware River, and Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood, residents can now walk from the play areas in Liney Ditch Park to Phoenix Park to enjoy the five-acre green space on the river, then traverse the Waterfront Walkway along the banks of the Delaware to the Michael Doyle Fishing Pier, and then return to the community park at Liney Ditch.