Watershed Alliance hits milestone
Flooding is something nearly everyone in Western Pennsylvania is all too familiar with, along with the damage it can do.
And as we learned in the Sunday, Aug. 4, edition of the Butler Eagle, one group has been working to help prevent flooding, along with water pollution, for 25 years. The Connoquenessing Watershed Alliance was incorporated in October 1999, and has completed multiple projects, including a rainfall mitigation system at Alameda Park.
The alliance formed after Connoquenessing Creek was named one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. In June 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered AK Steel to reduce the amount of nitrates it was discharging into the creek.
In the years since, the group has worked to keep streambanks stable and prevent erosion, which can be caused by rainwater pouring into the creek.
Dave Andrews, the alliance board president, explained why such projects are important.
“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.”
As the group prepares to commemorate a quarter century of waterway preservation, there are more projects in the offing. The alliance plans to partner with Penn Township and improve about 500 feet of stream corridor.
Recent work at Thorn Creek is going to continue, with plans for a real-time monitoring system.
“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 group deserves credit for the work it’s done — we look forward to seeing what the next 25 years bring.
— JK
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