There’s something about a creek.
Spend an hour in the woods with some kids, and for 59 minutes, they’ll be messing around in whatever water they can find.
Grownups can tear up about the stream where they caught their first trout.
And, if you’re like most people, when you sit on a log watching a creek bubble by, you’ll feel your breath deepen, your mind settle, and your heart open.
Mill Creek is one of many places in the Brodhead watershed where people feel “something” about a creek.
It’s the spine of Barrett Township, rising in wetlands high on the Pocono Plateau, cascading down toward Mountainhome, cutting its way through gamelands, along backyards, under roadways, and finally meandering along Mill Creek Road til it meets the Brodhead Creek.
Generations of people have used and enjoyed it.
Local go-getters built mills on it for everything from sawing wood to distilling wintergreen.
Early innkeepers dammed it for ice skating in winter and watersliding in summer.
People have fished it, waded it, and lived along its banks for generations.
And lately, people have been showing how much the creek means to them in practical ways.
For an Eagle Scout project, Dillon Brunetti and friends replaced a solid asphalt path at Mountainhome United Methodist Church with pervious pavers that allow rain and snowmelt to filter naturally into the soil — instead of carrying debris and pollution into the creek.
Under the church parking lot, pipes create an underground void that captures water as it drains from the parking lot and church roof, preventing erosion, and keeping oil, gas, and debris out of pristine Mill Creek.
Landowners up and down the creek have taken part in a Brodhead Watershed Association program to remove knotweed that clogged the creek’s banks.
Scouts led by Matt and Sarah Dilger planted native trees and shrubs in its place.
Penn State Master Watershed Stewards join in by maintaining the new plantings.
And businesses all along routes 940 and 390 have put out rain barrels — painted by local artists — to capture stormwater runoff from their roofs.
Behind the scenes, Brodhead Watershed Association commissioned a study of the Mill Creek’s aquatic life and health, and petitioned the state to redesignate it as one of the “Exceptional Value” waterways of the Commonwealth — decision pending.
And three landowners whose property drains to Mill Creek made the ultimate gift to the creek and everyone who loves it: They protected their land from being developed.
The Zimmer Farm’s 97 acres, the Hallet homestead’s 27 acres, and the beautiful 142-acre Miller property have all been conserved. Forever.
If you live near Mill Creek — or any waterway — you can help protect it.
Don’t litter or dump. Clean up road trash. Don’t flush medicine, dump oil or gas, or burn garbage.
Allow a natural buffer of native flowers and shrubs to grow along the banks, and don’t mow right to the edge.
And once in a while, remember to slow down, enjoy the flow of your local creek — and let it lift up your life and spirits.
Click Here for more articles in the Protecting Clean Water Together Series.
The Brodhead Watershed Association protects water quality and quantity throughout our area. Get involved! Become a member!
The Pocono Heritage Land Trust helps landowners preserve their land to meet many goals
Related Articles This Week:
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-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper: Amidea Daniels, Fish & Boat Commission Educator, Strives To Connect People To Natural Resources Through Creative Efforts Like Women’s Programming, Trout In Classroom [PaEN]
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-- Protecting Clean Water Together: More Than Just Water: Mill Creek Flows With Community, Connection, Conservation In Monroe County - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
-- Water At Risk: Clean Water, Shared Commitment - Behind The Scenes In Monroe County - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension Hosts July 16 Webinar On Uses And Benefits Of Rain Barrels [PaEN]
-- Penn State Extension July 23 Webinar On Private Water Supply Education And Water Testing [PaEN]
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-- EPA Awards $216,000 Grant To Pennsylvania To Protect Beachgoers From Bacteria
-- Pittsburgh Water Authority Announces $75.4 Million Water Main, Lead Service Line Replacement Projects
-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Water Authority Launches $75.4 Million Project To Replace 10 Miles Of Mains, 1,000 Service Lines
-- WHYY: Forecasters Predict Busy Hurricane Season For 2025
[Posted: June 4, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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