Spring Cleaning for Our Watershed
It’s harder than it looks to roll a tire out of a rocky creek. First, that tire will be full of water. Second, creek banks are uneven, so the tire won’t roll easily across the ground. Third, tires are surprisingly heavy.
Unfortunately, countless tires find their way into our local streams, and they’re leeching many harmful chemicals into the water. Once there, they join multiple other unwelcome guests within our waterways, such as discarded beer cans, plastic trash bags, plastic utensils , tin cans, old TVs, and old mattresses. None of this debris is meant to be part of a stream. All of it is harmful and should be removed.
At least once a year, I and hundreds of other volunteers take part in the Chester Ridley Crum (CRC) Annual Streams Cleanup, now in its 23rd year. We put on old clothes, glove up, and wade in to pull tires and much more out of our local streams and creeks. It’s satisfying to watch the piles of removed debris accumulate, and to know that we made a difference in the quality of the water and the habitat of so many local plants and animals. In 2019, more than 500 volunteers cleaned up 34 sections of the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creeks, removing about 10 tons of trash.
This year’s Annual Streams Cleanup will be on Saturday, March 20. It will offer many opportunities to make a difference in the health of our local waterways. You can sign up to volunteer at any one of more than 30 sites, including Chester, West Chester, Springfield, Malvern, and either of two sites in Swarthmore — one at Little Crum Creek Park (meet on Cresson Avenue) and the other at CADES (meet in the CADES parking lot on Rutgers Avenue). We’ll adhere to COVID-19 protocols by wearing masks and socially distancing. All ages are welcome, but children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
It can be hard to see the relationship between the condition of the stream that runs behind your house (or alongside the local grocery store) and the health of our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Each small stream feeds into a larger one, ultimately joining forces with ever-larger bodies of water. For example, the Chester, Ridley, and Crum creeks feed into the Delaware River. If we don’t take care of the stream in our own neighborhood, the waterways downstream will suffer.
Each of us lives within a watershed – a region that drains into one or more rivers – and healthy watersheds contribute to our own health and happiness in a number of ways. They filter the water that ultimately becomes our drinking water; by keeping the rivers clean, they provide homes for local animals like brook trout, freshwater eels, and beaver; and they add beauty to the natural landscape. Unfortunately, 95% of our watersheds are categorized as “impaired” by the State of Pennsylvania. Our rivers suffer considerable harm due to the increasing number of people who live near them. More people means more litter and chemicals, which, through rain and stormwater drains, eventually wash into the rivers.
Saturday, March 20, is a day when we can take up a bag, put on gloves and old shoes, wade in, and do our part. Please sign up here. I’ve been the site coordinator at Little Crum Creek Park for over 20 years, and it’s always been a great time for seeing old friends and making new ones. I know that you’ll have fun, and your watershed will thank you!
Susan Kelly is president of the board of Friends of Little Crum Creek Park.
