Watershed alliance keeps Connoquenessing Creek clean
Logs funneled rainwater through Sullivan Run on Friday morning, Aug. 2, sending the water flowing around specifically placed rocks and down small artificial cascades in Alameda Park, which helped prevent the 1.5 inches of rain Butler received from overflowing the stream.
The Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance completed the rainwater mitigation project in 2021, one of the most recent completed by the nonprofit since its inception in October 1999. Dave Andrews, president of the Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance board of directors, said stream control is a growing concern because waterways are getting fed more rainfall as hard surfaces increase, preventing water from soaking into the ground.
According to Andrews, the water in Sullivan Run in Alameda Park used to build up a lot faster, and it could have flooded Friday morning if not for the mitigation project. The stream feeds into the Connoquenessing Creek, so making sure the water is flowing properly also helps stop issues from occurring downstream.
“The hard surfaces we have — whether that's parking lots, pavements — it runs into a storm drain, a ditch, it gets to a stream a lot faster,” Andrews said. “We’re trying to slow down the water in the head waters. If we can slow water down here, eventually we’re going to slow water down in the Connoquenessing and it helps them with their flooding.”
The watershed alliance’s secretary, Ryan Harr, is also a watershed resource specialist for the Butler County Conservation District. He is one of the most recent members of the alliance, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of its letters of incorporation in October.
Harr said the alliance and the conservation district have done stream stabilization projects in Butler that have not only helped prevent flooding in populated areas, but helped build up ecosystems by planting native species. The conservation district helps design projects for the alliance, which in turn helps keep the ecosystem healthy in the area, Harr said.
“We partnered with them on numerous projects; anything from helping with permitting,” Harr said. “Anything with planning or helping design I help out with.”
Andrews said rainfall can be devastating to a stream if it goes unaddressed for long periods of time, and the alliance got its start in 1999 after Connoquenessing Creek was identified as one of the most polluted bodies of water in the nation.
The alliance’s first task was testing the water in the creek, which was followed by some projects aimed at preventing erosion of the streambank in pivotal areas. Andrews said the group prevents erosion by planting trees and vegetation along the stream, because roots can stabilize the ground and stop water from eating away the shore.
“It's trees, it's shrubs, it helps keep the soil in place so the bank doesn't erode,” Andrews said. “It helps hold the mud back so it doesn't flow into the stream.”
The rainfall hitting the region this year has been particularly harsh.
Fred McMullen, a meteorologist with National Weather Service Pittsburgh, said rainfall in the Pittsburgh area is 5.12 inches above average for the year, even though rainfall since June is lower than it usually is. He said the heaviest rainfall of the year hit the region in April.
McMullen also said the period of rain that extended into Friday morning fell over the course of about six hours, and the National Weather Service Pittsburgh didn’t receive any reports of flooding during that time.
Andrews said the Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance is working on projects in Penn Township, where Thorn Creek runs through and also floods from time to time. He said keeping a close eye on streams can help better predict flood conditions, which is the aim of an upcoming project the alliance is taking on.
“We’re going to have a real-time water-monitoring site in Thorn Creek,” Andrews said. “We’re going to have basically a guide sheet for it, ‘If you see a gauge level of this, you might see flooding in your area.’”
The Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance has meetings periodically, and Andrews said the organization has plenty of ways people can get involved. He said the group performs maintenance on its mitigation systems often, especially in Alameda Park.
“Here it’s pretty often,” Andrews said. “We’re trying to educate as much as anything, because a lot of people don’t understand what we do.”
For more information on the Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance, visit its Facebook page, or its website at connoqwatershed.org.
