WeConservePA Visits Award-Winning Headwaters Restoration Project By Wissahickon Trails In Montgomery County

WeConservePA’s Advocacy Manager Brad Barkdoll attended a site visit to tour an award winning headwaters restoration project by Wissahickon Trails along the Wissahickon Creek. 

In addition to WeConservePA and staff and affiliates from Wissahickon Trails, the site visit included Montgomery County-based Rep. Mary Jo Daley, Rep. Liz Hanbidge, and staff from Rep. Matthew Bradford’s office.

The $1.4 million Wissahickon Headwaters Stream and Riparian Restoration Project in Upper Gwynedd Township was completed in fall 2020 and is the culmination of 5 years of planning and collaboration among Wissahickon Trails, Merck, Upper Gwynedd Township, PA DEP, PECO, William Penn Foundation, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

The project restored and stabilized the stream channel and reconnected it with its floodplain along 1,775 linear feet of the Wissahickon Creek in the PECO Right-of-Way power line corridor. 

The project converted this property along a highly eroded stretch of the Wissahickon Creek into an actual floodplain, which slows down the force of the water and allows it to percolate into the ground, instead of flowing downstream.

Gail Farmer, Wissahickon Trails’ Executive Director, has stated of the project: “Working closely with local stakeholders such as Merck, Upper Gwynedd, and PECO—and being backed by additional state, federal, and private dollars—is an essential aspect of this project. This type of public/private partnership is necessary when addressing complex environmental challenges like stormwater. In the Wissahickon, we have local public and private partners who are committed to being a part of the solution.”

Click Here for more information on this project.

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(Reprinted from the WeConservePA website.)

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[Posted: October 19, 2022]  PA Environment Digest