The PA Resources Council is inviting any property owner in the Darby and Cobbs Creek Watersheds to participate in the Stream Smart Stormwater House Call Program!

The watershed encompasses areas of Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, with all or parts of 31 municipalities, including: Easttown, Tredyffrin, Aldan, Clifton Heights, Collingdale, Colwyn, Darby, East Lansdowne, Folcroft, Glenolden, Haverford, Lansdowne, Marple, Millbourne, Morton, Newtown, Norwood, Prospect Park, Radnor, Ridley Park, Ridley, Rutledge, Sharon Hill, Springfield, Tinicum, Upper Darby, Yeadon, Lower Merion, and Narberth.

Stream Smart properties will receive information about stormwater pollution and a personalized stormwater audit of their property free of charge.

This audit will identify changes property owners can take to reduce stormwater runoff leaving their property.

Interested property owners will be assisted with guidance from the partner organizations on installing demonstration “best management practices” on their property such as rain barrels, rain gardens, or riparian plants.

The Stream Smart Stormwater House Call program creates avenues for improved stormwater management on private property in a densely urbanized watershed where large restoration projects are limited.

All reaches of streams in the Darby and Cobbs Creek Watershed have been designated as impaired by the Department of Environmental Protection on the 303(d) list.

The impairments are mostly due to stormwater related impacts and urban runoff. The watershed is heavily developed, and the lower portions of the watershed are densely urbanized.

Some of the most intensely developed areas in Pennsylvania are located within the watershed, with upwards of 80 percent impervious cover in these locations.

In this region, the average property size is .25 acres. The average impervious coverage for residential properties is 38 percent. That translates into 4,138 ft2 of impervious surface in need of modification to control runoff.

If this region experiences an average rainfall of 42 inches or 310.35 gallons of run off this program has the potential to divert 13,034 gallons of run off per property!

These small, feasible efforts will have a big impact for years to come!

Click Here for more information.  To request a House Call, to get answers to questions about the program, contact Jayne Young by sending email to: streamsmarthousecall@gmail.com or Click Here to register for the Stream Smart House Call program.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Resources Council website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates, follow PRC on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.  Click Here for PRC’s Events Calendar.  Click Here to support their work.

(Photo: Newly installed rain garden in Darby-Cobbs Creek Watersheds.)

NewsClips:

The Nature Conservancy PA: Challenge: Soaking Up Stormwater, Solution: Unleashing The Power Of Nature

Blair Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee May Become An Authority

Wyoming Sanitary Authority Seeks Firm To Educate Public About Stormwater Work

(Reprinted from the Spring 2018 PA Resources Council newsletter.)

[Posted: March 21, 2018]

3/26/2018