In recent years, flooding has become increasingly dangerous and devastating in Chester County and across the country. In fact, flooding is the most prevalent natural disaster in Pennsylvania, causing over $1 million worth of property damage annually. Chester county has 2,300 miles of streams and around 250 problem areas of known flooding. Many smaller flooding issues cause erosion and flooded basements on residential properties. Although these statistics are alarming, there are ways residents can help prevent flooding and be good stormwater neighbors to each other.
Being a good stormwater neighbor means carrying out practices on your property to help mitigate flooding, while not disrupting the property and boundaries of your neighbors. The most important thing to remember is that stormwater does not follow property lines. Even if you and your neighbors have fences the outflow of water will go wherever it wants. This can lead to neighbor disputes, which should be handled with cooperation and open communication. To avoid conflicts, familiarize yourself with how rainwater and snow melt flow onto your property. Look for entrances, exits and problem areas where flooding occurs. Flow should be redirected into vegetated areas that slow down the water and infiltrate water and pollutants. If you live near a stream, drainage swale, or pond, you can plant a riparian buffer along the edge of the water. This will prevent erosion on your property and improve water quality.
An easy place to start is to ensure that all the existing stormwater structures on your property are functioning properly. Check if drains from driveways and downspouts are clear of debris and flowing properly. Make sure not to hose off pathways and try sweeping instead, so debris doesn’t flow into your drains. Clean stormwater grates in front of your home after cutting the grass or raking leaves. Yard waste blocks stormwater grates and reduces oxygen in the water which causes dead zones. Finally, be sure that culverts are not blocked by trash or woody debris.
Some other techniques to try at home include planting rain gardens, installing rain barrels and creating dry wells to infiltrate water to recharge groundwater. Simple practices, maintenance and repairs like these can go a long way to reduce flooding on your property. If your community works together, flood prevention is possible.
To learn more about what you can do at home visit www.cwmp.org and check out the up to date calendar of events, webinars and more.
CWMP is hosting a workshop on May 21st, 2021 (9 am -12:30 pm) for Homeowner Associations (HOAs) and property managers to help them understand how to manage and control stormwater runoff to meet regulatory obligations, and to protect the resources of our watersheds.
Stormwater can be one of the most important and potentially problematic issues that HOAs face. Controlling runoff is important to protect property, home values, and the quality of the water in our streams and ponds. We seek to present relevant information and answer questions you have. We bring together experts, municipal officials, engineers, and stormwater professionals to explore all aspects of this important topic.
This workshop will be limited to 25 participants in person, but there will be an online option as well.
Stormwater runoff is one of the main causes of pollution in the United States, yet it is not at the forefront of the minds of many. Stormwater, simply the precipitation that falls, is absorbed into the ground or falls into bodies of water. Stormwater pollution occurs when precipitation, such as rainfall, picks up harmful substances (road salts, oil, chemicals, and other debris). That polluted stormwater can run off the land and carry that pollution into waterways. This nonpoint source pollution, which doesn’t come from one specific location or origin, is difficult to regulate, yet can be a major cause of river impairment.
The White Clay, Red Clay, and Brandywine Creek are major drinking water sources, but polluted runoff from rain events makes cleaning the water for consumption incredibly costly and difficult. In a healthy stream, vegetation in riparian areas, such as forests and meadows near the riverbank, slow down rain as it gradually soaks through soils. This percolation allows pollutants to filter out while also replenishing groundwater. In developed areas, the speed and intensity of rain runoff intensify over concrete and other impervious surfaces, runoff has no time to filter out pollutants. Because stormwater is the largest source of pollution in our watersheds which are largely comprised of privately owned land, the Catch the Rain Program was born.
Catch the Rain was created in 2016, supported by the Dockstader Foundation and spearheaded by the White Clay Wild and Scenic Program and the Brandywine Conservancy. The program hopes to improve water quality by promoting Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) practices. These practices are designed to capture and detain rainfall, reduce the overall stormwater speed and volume running off into the River, and stimulate the natural filtering processes of soil. The program reaches out to suburban homeowners (and homeowner associations) and educates, encourages, and provides monetary incentives for the voluntary implementation of green stormwater practices such as rain gardens and tree planting. The program also works with municipalities to install GSI practices on municipal land, practices that can also be used as demonstration sites. These GSI practices have other benefits as well, including enhanced community beauty, increased property values, improved drinking water quality, and additional habitat for birds and pollinators.
The program is currently focused in the White Clay Creek watershed, but a long term goal is to expand it to the entire Brandywine-Christina basin. A few highlights from 2020 include an 850 square feet rain garden at Paper Mill Park in New Castle County, Delaware, and another 850 sq. ft. rain garden (as seen below) located in front of the Avon Grove Public Library in West Grove Borough, a riparian (streamside) buffer planting on two acres along the Middle Branch on private land in Franklin Township, and a conservation landscape and buffer planting along 100 feet of a small stream on private lands also located in Franklin Township. Both rain gardens were installed in spring 2020 and have withstood three major storm events without any issues and with reduced stormwater runoff to White Clay Creek. Upkeep and maintenance of these gardens is a top priority to ensure long-term success.
Recently installed rain garden full of stormwater during a two-inch rainstorm in July 2020.
Rain garden in bloom three months after installation.
In October, using the West Grove rain garden as a hands-on demonstration site, individuals representing multiple MS4 communities including public works staff, municipal managers, and engineers, attended a live training workshop focusing on green stormwater infrastructure. The half-day workshop was hosted by the Christina Watersheds Municipal Partnership and free of charge thanks to an environmental education grant awarded by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts. The workshop was live and also streamed virtually for those who couldn’t attend.
Since the program’s inception in October 2016, there have been 93 residential applicants and 2 municipal partners install 41 practices. The costs for these projects have totaled close to $82,000, funded through a combination of federal Wild and Scenic funds, outside funding sources such as grants, and landowners (see graph below). The program has implemented municipal rain gardens, riparian buffers, and several smaller-scale residential practices like rain barrel installations, tree plantings, and conservation landscaping. The White Clay Creek Watershed is a great example of how a developed watershed can use the voluntary actions of those who live in the area to improve water quality. Partnerships between different organizations, municipalities, and volunteers are what creates a positive difference in the health of our local watersheds.
If you or your community reside in the White Clay watershed and are interested in learning more about this cost-share program to help the environment, please contact Shane Morgan at mpc@whiteclay.org. Learn more about the Catch the Rain Rebate Program or register for a site visit at whiteclay.org/catchtherain.
These articles are provided to CWMP member municipalities by CWMP Planning Team members and partners. Publishing and posting these articles is encouraged. These articles may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author and their organization as listed at the end of each article. If this article is to be used in any other manner or revised, permission from the author is required.
If your grass looks like most of the turf grass in Chester County, your lawn is most likely composed of cool season grasses whose roots only extend about three inches below the soil surface. While cool season grasses are nice to walk on in bare feet or have a badminton match on, they score very low in the infiltration and evapotranspiration departments. In other words, rain water just sits on top of the lawn or quickly runs off. If you would like to reduce ponding on your property, decrease runoff coming off of your property, or improve water quality by making changes on your property, you have options!
Warm season grasses are a great place to start. They have deep root systems which provide increased infiltration and soil stabilization, helping to reduce soil erosion, ponding, and runoff. They also have improved evapotranspiration as compared to cool season grasses. They grow in bunches, and can provide texture to the landscape. There are a handful of native and popular warm season grasses which can be ordered from most local nurseries. Big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass are all native to North America and are considered the most prominent species of the tallgrass prairie. They each provide bird habitat and have autumn appeal. Warm season grasses can be planted in fields, lawns, and gardens. They work best on dry and sunny sites.
Pesky Wet Spots
Do you have a spot on your property that you can’t mow during the rainy season because it’s too soggy? Your best bet is to plant a tree there to take up that water. If you have overhead wires, underground utilities, or other site restrictions, it might not be appropriate to plant a tree. In those cases, there are other options – either shrubs or herbaceous plants.
Is the wet spot on your lawn in a shady area? Trees suited for these conditions are sugar maple, river birch, flowering dogwood, and pin oak. Appropriate shrubs are smooth alder, pagoda dogwood, wild hydrangea, spicebush, and rosebay (rhododendron). Herbaceous perennial plants suited for shady and wet conditions are jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, dutchman’s breeches, cardinal flower, golden ragwort, Jacob’s ladder, and foamflower. Native ferns which would also be appropriate include maidenhair fern, wood ferns, cinnamon fern, interrupted fern, and Christmas fern.Is it a sunny wet spot? Eastern white pine, tuliptree, red maple, white oak, and eastern hemlock are large trees that thrive on sunny and wet sites. A smaller tree that will do well in these conditions is a serviceberry, also known as shadbush. If you are looking for something in the 5-10 foot range, with robust root systems to hold the soil in place and increase infiltration and evapotranspiration, look no further than Pennsylvania native shrubs. Summersweet, red-osier dogwood, winterberry, red chokeberry, and ninebark are a few that would thrive in sunny and wet conditions. Perhaps woody vegetation just isn’t for you. While herbaceous plants don’t have as strong of roots and aren’t quite as good at taking up the water as trees and shrubs, they can still provide major improvements from cool season grasses found in lawns. Consider plants such as bee-balm, wild blue phlox, swamp milkweed, joe-pye-weed, gaura, oxeye sunflower, great blue lobelia, mountain mints, New England aster, New York ironweed, and culver’s root.
For scientific names of the plants discussed above and more information on benefits of landscaping with native plants, visit:
Examining the quality of a stream or waterway can be done in many ways and with different levels of technicality. However, you don’t necessarily need high end, precision sensors, or a warehouse full of expensive equipment to know how healthy a stream in your own backyard might be. A glimpse into the biodiversity of the critters that inhabit a fresh water ecosystem can reveal abundant information about the quality of the water and the overall status of the stream.
Streams in Chester County and across the globe are teeming with life. Some of that life is seen clear as day, while some hides under rocks or might even be too small to see with the naked eye. Groups of organisms that we can see and use as indicators of water quality include amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and fishes. While not true for every ecosystem, generally if you find a stream to be inhabited by many different types of species, chances are it’s in fairly good health. Certain groups of animals can tell you more than others based on their living requirements and tolerances. For example, salamanders and other amphibians are unique in that they have the novel ability to breathe through their skin. This is known a cutaneous respiration. While cutaneous respiration allows them to thrive in specialized environments, it also makes them very susceptible to absorbing toxins through their skin. It would not be uncommon to find an absence of salamanders or even deceased ones in heavily polluted streams or immediately following a toxic spill event. On another note, certain species of mayflies have specific tolerances for dissolved oxygen. They can only be found in pristine streams were persistently high levels of dissolved oxygen readily flows over their feather-like gills. Individual indicators such as these provide a glimpse into the overall quality of stream.
When water quality professionals examine biological indicators, often the community as a whole is assessed. Different species are assigned certain categories or weights based on their tolerances, or special living parameters. Many metrics are measured to determine a score that correlates with a certain degree of water quality. But you don’t need fancy metrics or calculations to learn about your stream’s health. Anyone with a few good identification books and an interest to explore can research the biodiversity in a nearby stream. So next time you are out and about on a hike, or walking your dog by a stream, take a second and flip over a rock or peer into a clear shallow pool. You may be surprised by what you discover.
Content provided by Tom Oranzi at Chester County Conservation District. Contact CCCD at 610-925-4920 ex 100.
It is a common misconception that all non-native organisms are considered invasive species. In fact, some non-native species have valuable agricultural and medicinal uses. They are only considered invasive when they cause ecological or economic harm to their environment. The reason that this can become such a big issue is because humans are moving plant species to different regions at a much faster rate than the plants would spread through natural expansion. Most invasive species outcompete native organisms for limited resources and are capable of altering entire habitats. Not only do invasive plants degrade the quality of water and soil, but the further they spread, the more expensive it is to control them. Invasive plants have the ability to displace and kill off native species in pastures and cropland. Invasive pests can also cause major damage to a crop yield, resulting in economic loss.
Garlic Mustard Rosette – These invasive species release chemicals inhibiting the growth of nearby plant species
Lists of invasive plant species in Chester County can be found through resources like the Brandywine Conservancy, municipality ordinances, or PA DCNR. A few commonly-seen invasive species present in Chester County include garlic mustard (shown in the photo), tree-of-heaven (correlated with the spotted lanternfly), Norway maple, Canada thistle, and mile-a-minute weed.
There are several ways homeowners can take action to help control invasive species in Chester County. The easiest thing to do is to take precautions such as cleaning your boots before hiking in a new area. This prevents accidental transporting of non-native organisms into a different habitat. It is also important to eliminate the introduction of non-native species like exotic houseplants or aquarium pets into the outside environment. Buying native species, especially for landscaping purposes, is an effective way to reduce the spread of invasive species. It is important to be educated on native alternatives and have a conversation with your landscaper about the types of species you want on your property.
Lastly, early detection and rapid response is key to limiting Chester County’s invasive species and reducing the cost of controls. It is crucial to first familiarize yourself with plant species, what to look for, and how to dispose of invasive species properly if you choose to remove plants from your property on your own. A great way to have an impact is to volunteer with organizations and conservancies that hold invasive plant management projects. There are volunteer days dedicated to manually removing invasive plants, and even pests like the spotted lanternfly, in local parks and wildlife areas. You can report sightings to the Chester County Penn State Extension Office and find more information through DCNR and PA Department of Agriculture.
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Spotted lanternflies are an invasive species threatening several industries in Chester County, including agriculture and horticulture. Penn State Extension has an abundance of information about what you can do to stop the spread of Spotted Lanternfly on their website. Go to https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly for more information.
Spotted Lanternflies lay their eggs on the bark of trees and other smooth surfaces in the fall. Around the beginning of May, the first instar nymphs emerge from the egg masses and begin drawing nutrients from nearby plants. Each egg mass contains 20 to 50 individual eggs, so scraping one egg mass is much easier than chasing down 20 to 50 little nymphs.
Before May first, we should be sure to check our trees, firewood, lawn furniture, and other outdoor items for egg masses. We recommend that if you see them, scrape them off and put the scraped mass into a plastic bag with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. If rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer are unavailable, use a scraper card or putty knife to squish the egg masses. This method is not officially approved by any agency, but by obliterating the egg mass and the eggs within, you will be able to tell that they have no chance of survival.
The image below, from Penn State, shows the life cycle of the spotted lanternfly.
While water conservation reminders may make some people roll their eyes at the dullness or the need for expensive purchases, conserving water can also be in the form of a fun and creative family activity. We need creative solutions to save our most valuable natural resource. For example, a reward system could be set up with family and friends as a motivator to practice conservation techniques. Creating strategies to improve water management in your home is a great way for you to make a difference. The frequency of (and need for) handwashing has increased substantially due to the COVID-19 crisis. According to the CDC, simply turning the tap off while lathering your hands with soap can save water from being wasted and can improve your water bill. The table below presents tips to use in each aspect of your home.
An average individual can save up to 25 gallons per day by using water-saving techniques indoors. Remember that every drop saved is a penny in the bank. Simply creating awareness of our water usage can make a significant impact on our environment.
Have you ever wondered how the streams in your municipality are regulated in respect to different types of pollutants (or impairments)? Have you considered how regulators decide how much of all the different pollutants out there are allowed to enter our local waterways? Have you ever considered what you could do to prevent pollution from your property from entering your local waterway?
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the principal piece of federal legislation that governs water pollution. Its main objective, to make sure all of the nation’s waters are clean enough to support recreation and aquatic life. To meet this goal, the CWA created programs designed to regulate and reduce the amount of pollution entering waterways. One of these programs, Section 303(d), requires that states monitor their waterbodies and report those not meeting water quality standards. Once a waterbody is listed as impaired, the CWA requires the state to develop what are known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for the pollutant(s) of concern. Your local municipality is then required to meet these pollution reduction goals.
More than half of the stream miles in Pennsylvania portion of the Brandywine Christina Basin are listed as impaired (PADEP 303 b Integrated Report, http://www.depgis.state.pa.us/2020_Integrated_Report/). The PADEP lists streams impairments for aquatic life, fish consumption, potable water sources, and recreation. The sources of these impairments are largely due to non-point stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is rain, running over the land, that picks up pollutants such as sediment (dirt), nutrients (fertilizers and waste), and bacteria and transports these pollutants into the creek. They are called non-point because it is difficult more difficult to regulate than point source pollution (pollution that is discharged from a single source, or pipe). The best way to keep non-point pollutants out of the water is to eliminate or reduce them at the source, or capture and treat them before they reach the creek.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) calculates the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. Basically, it is a pollution permit, a permit that allows for a certain amount of pollution to enter the stream. For instance, if you were on a diet you would have a goal to reach a specific daily caloric intake in order to reach or maintain a healthy weight. Likewise, a municipality has a goal to meet specific pollutant load reductions to reach or maintain healthy water quality standards. So, if your municipality is allowed to put 200 pounds of nitrogen pollution into the creek, and they are currently putting in 400 pounds, they would need to reduce that by 50% to meet their TMDL goal. To reach these goals, they need everyone’s cooperation.
Setting pollution limits (TMDLs) is the first step towards improving water quality. Once pollution limits are established further efforts must be identified to reduce the pollutant loads (sources). Management through grants, partnerships, and voluntary actions by citizens are integral in the successful implementation of TMDLs (pollution diets). Local governments rely on the efforts of watershed residents, businesses, and agricultural operations with in their planning areas to help them meet their clean water requirements. Collectively, we can take smaller, more attainable steps to achieve a larger goal – clean water for all.
Volunteers planting a rain garden in White Clay Creek (c) North Creek Nurseries
Simple steps anyone can take to help your community with its pollution diet.
Keep litter off the streets so it doesn’t wash into storm drains and then into local creeks.
Dispose of hazardous household wastes and prescription drugs at designated collection sites and not down the drain!
Only apply fertilizers and pesticides sparingly and responsibly.
Install a rain barrel or rain garden to capture and soak in stormwater.
Scoop the poop, then trash it. Pet waste carries with it bacteria that is harmful to human health.
Plant more native trees, especially along the creek instead of mowing up to the banks. Trees shade the water for aquatic life, hold stream banks together, and provide habitat.
Create a wildlife garden using native plants. Native plants (especially trees!) tend to have deep roots that help infiltrate rain water as opposed to the shallow roots of a mowed lawn. They provide food and shelter for native animals and pollinators.
Wash your vehicle at a car wash or on the grass and service your vehicle regularly to prevent oils and other fluids from leaking into storm drains.
Pump your septic at least every three years to prevent bacterial contamination of both surface and ground water.
Only drain pool water that has been tested as chlorine free over grass. Untested water should never be drained over grass or pumped to storm drains.
Support your municipality in its efforts to curb pollution. It’s up to all of us to achieve clean water standards.
These articles are provided to CWMP member municipalities by CWMP Planning Team member and partners. Publishing and posting these articles is encouraged. These articles may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author and their organization as listed at the end of each article. If this article is to be used in any other manner or revised, permission from the author is required.
