Ninth Annual Christina Bus Tour

Molly Hesson, Graduate Research Assistant
University of Delaware, Water Resources Agency

On Friday September 10, 2004 Delaware and Pennsylvania members of the Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership gathered for the 9th annual bus tour of the Christina River Basin.  The purpose of the tour was to visit various best management practices (BMPs) that have been installed to protect and restore the waters of the Christina Basin.

Bob Struble from the Brandywine Valley Association coordinated the tour with assistance by Dan Greig of the Chester County Conservation District for the portion in Pennsylvania.  The Delaware share of the tour was set up by Colleen Arnold from the City of Wilmington, Linda Stapleford from the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Management Committee, Steve Williams from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) , and Jerry Kauffman from the University of Delaware Water Resources Agency.

The weather was sunny and warm for the all day event that included tours of sites exemplifying model watershed management practices.  The morning was spent touring the Pennsylvania section of the watershed, including townships in Chester County west of the West Chester area.  The partners visited a farm in Honey Brook Township, a storm water basin in East Caln Township, and the Greenwood Mushroom Farm in Kennett Square. 

After lunch at a park near Avondale the tour continued through New Castle County to sites in the Delaware section of the Christina River Basin. While in Delaware the tour viewed a Smartyard garden at Shue Middle School, a combined sewer over flow facility in Canby Park in Wilmington, and a stream restoration along Balls Run in the Mill Creek watershed at All Saints Cemetery located off Kirkwood Highway.

Fisher Farm, Honey Brook Township, PA

This manure holding tank at Fisher Farm has a nine-month capacity, providing ample time to store and use the manure.

Fisher Farm produces corn, alfalfa, and livestock on 75 acres of land in northern Chester County.  The farm has worked with the Chester County Conservation District (CCCD) to implement a waste management system which includes a manure tank with a nine month capacity, drop box to catch and redirect driveway runoff, barnyard roof gutters to keep clean water separate from dirty, and a filter system to handle all barnyard runoff.  The farm is scheduled to install 2,885 feet of riparian fencing and two or three livestock crossings on the creek that divides the barnyard section of the farm from the cropland.  The Fisher Farm is located on a tributary to the West Branch of the Brandywine River, and received an 80% cost reimbursement for its implementation of a Best Management Practice that targets stormwater and nutrient runoff into the Christina Basin.  In Chester County the cost-share is provided by the CCCD through the Brandywine Watershed Project in cooperation with the USDA NRCS Conservation Reserve Program.

Ashbridge Square Stormwater Basins, East Caln Township, PA

This photo of hte Ashbridge Square drainage basin shos the input culvert which channels drainage from the shopping plaza and the neighborhood on the left side of the picture.

The Ashbridge Square shopping plaza in East Caln Township has two large stormwater basins that were contributing to local flooding during rain events.  The Chester County Conservation District worked with the plaza developer to garner money to support a complete redesign of the basins.  With funds from the original plaza developer and the Christina EPA, the CCCD rerouted stormwater piping, removed concrete from beneath the basins and began wetland reconstructions in them.   Native vegetation ranging in tolerance to soil moisture was systematically arranged to create wetlands designed to control erosion, provide flood relief, and increase water quality in the area by removing hydrocarbons, sediment, and grit from the drainage water.

Greenwood Mushrooms, Kennett Square, PA

The main facility yard at Greenwood Mushrooms is where compost unloading takes place.  Compost is moved into the mushroom houses seen to the left and right sides of this photo.  Special inserts are placed into the stormwater drainage system to channel dirty water from the yard when compost residue is being washed away.  The inserts are removed after the compost is rinsed from the pavement and stormwater flows to a retention basin.

Greenwood Mushrooms increased the number of mushroom houses over the past two years and signed a Red and White Clay Creek PL-566 contract in 2002 promoting installation of BMPs regarding water treatment.  In the new houses, dirty water from the first spreading of compost and harvesting is channeled into a separate pipe within the storm water drainage system.   The dirty water flows into a concrete holding tank, and storm water runoff from the facility that has not been exposed to compost flows into a storm water basin.  When compost is being loaded into the houses the main facility yard gets washed down after dispersal and inserts are placed within the storm water channels directing the wash water to the dirty water storage basin.   The pipes and drainage holding tanks have effectively separated clean water that has not touched compost from dirty water that washed compost from the houses and yard.

SMARTYARD Garden, Shue Middle School, Newark, DE

Linda Stapleford (left) and the two seventh grade teachers responsible for the Shue Middle School Smartyard stand in front of the garden being considered for further development into an outdoor classroom.

At Shue Middle School, seventh graders learning about watersheds constructed a Smartyard garden as part of an after school project.  Smartyards are designed to incorporate native plants that provide habitat for birds and butterflies while capturing rainwater and allowing slow infiltration of stormwater into the soil.  Students researched which plants would be appropriate given their shading, water, and soil requirements.  This returning school year provided additional lessons concerning the garden because students were able to see changes that occurred over the summer months due to erosion and the death of a prominent fern.  The garden at Shue Middle School has given students hands on understanding of habitat interactions and their roles in maintaining watershed health.  They enjoyed the project so much that teachers are looking into a possible expansion of the garden and design of an outdoor classroom.

Combined Sewer Overflow, Canby Park Wilmington, DE

City of Wilmington's Sid Sharma (center) leads a discussion of how the five sewer overflow tanks under Canby Park operate.  Here he's explaining the connection between the Wilmington sewer system and the overflow tanks.

In common with most old cities, Wilmington has a combined sewer system that channels stormwater runoff and sewage in one piping system.   During many past large rain events the sewer system overflowed due the influx of stormwater and diluted sewage was forced up through storm drains.  The city has begun installing overflow tanks throughout the city to better control storm events.  We visited Canby Park in Wilmington where the city had just installed five underground overflow tanks.  During a rain event, combined rainwater and sewage that previously would overflow will drain into and fill the tanks.  When the sewers return to a lower flow level, water in the holding tanks is pumped back into the sewer system.  The addition of these systems protect stream and public health by preventing sewage from leaving the sewer system without proper treatment.

Balls Run Stream Restoration, All Saints Cemetery Wilmington, DE

This newly meandering stream at All Saints Cemetary was restored to control erosion, prevent flooding, and better protect the mausoleum in the background.

The final stop of the bus tour was at All Saints Cemetery near the Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington.  The cemetery was in need of a stream restoration along Balls Run because the indiscriminate bed of a drainage stream in the back of the cemetery frequently overflowed and threatened a mausoleum with erosion and flooding.   Under DNREC's auspices, backhoes were brought in, and the stream channel was redefined.  The stream was restored to a meandering pool and riffle sequence including a rock bed, rock-lined stream banks, and a flood plain planted with native grasses and shrubs.

September, 2004 Christina Basin Bus Tour locations