A pocket park in Stroudsburg. A “storywalk” at Minisink Park in Smithfield Township. A kiosk in Middle Smithfield Township.
What do they all have in common? Clean drinking water — and proof that good things grow from working together.
Leaders in Stroudsburg, Smithfield and Middle Smithfield are getting the word out about how to protect our drinking water, with help from Brodhead Watershed Association.
Some recent collaborations:
-- Stroudsburg’s pocket park offers a green respite: A sweet little pocket park in Stroudsburg, with benches and native trees, flowers, and grasses, provides shade and a welcome green view at the corner of Quaker Alley and Sixth Street.
Its rain gardens and permeable pavers also show how this “green infrastructure” can help clean and purify run-off from streets and sidewalks before entering the nearby Brodhead Creek and storm drains.
-- Kiosks at Minisink Park inform and entertain: A great meeting of the waters takes place at Minisink Park, where the Brodhead and Cherry Creeks join the mighty Delaware. The park’s soccer fields accept flood waters — as they were designed to do — and allow it to infiltrate the soil naturally.
The well-used walking trail that circuits the fields now has signs that tell stories about this land. From ancestors of the Lenape, to travelers on Route 80, to green infrastructure that cleans and protects the creeks, a walk here provides plenty to think about.
-- Stormwater management works at the Community and Cultural Center: Keeping water clean is a priority for Middle Smithfield.
With expertise from BWA, the township designed outside areas of the Community and Cultural Center to protect water resources naturally. Parking areas, gardens and meadows, walkways, downspouts, and trees all work together to keep water supplies clean.
Pervious paving material, for instance, allows rainwater and snowmelt to sink into the earth, cleaning and purifying it naturally.
Signs explain how these strategies work together for the good of all.
Other municipalities have taken advantage of the Brodhead Watershed Association’s tried-and-true, common-sense ways to keep our precious water resources clean.
How about yours?
Find out more! Visit the Brodhead Municipal Projects webpage to read more.
Visit the Brodhead Protecting Clean Water Together Series webpage to learn more about keeping water clean.
For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Brodhead Watershed Association website or Follow them on Facebook. Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Association. Click Here to become a member.
How Clean Is Your Stream?
The draft 2024 report has an interactive report viewer that allows you to zoom in to your own address to see if the streams near you are impaired and why.
Click Here to check out your streams. Click Here for a tutorial on using the viewer.
Resource Link:
Related Articles:
-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update: Funding Opportunities, Projects Supported; County Clean Water Updates; Much More! [PaEN]
-- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals: Registration Now Open For Level I Training, Certification; PA DCNR Offering Scholarships [PaEN]
-- Pike Conservation District: 2023 Water Quality Report; Pennsylvania's Forests; Vote For Lackawaxen River! [PaEN]
-- Protecting Clean Water Together: What’s The Big Deal About Water Anyway? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
-- Water At Risk Series: The Brodhead Watershed Association Helps Monroe County Municipalities Protect Clean Water - How About Yours? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts Jan. 12 In-Person Workshop On Climate Art And Networking For Watershed Leaders & Stewards [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts Jan. 29 Webinar On Green Infrastructure And Salty Stormwater [PaEN]
[Posted: January 1, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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