Studies & Documents
This page serves as an online archive & repository for studies & documents on grant-funded projects undertaken or contemplated by the Quittapahilla Watershed Association intended to improve the water quality in the watershed, and reports of interest relating to improving the watershed's water quality. It also includes studies that offer comparative data on our watershed in relation to our neighbors in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin.
This digital file cabinet brims with information on the many impairments of the Quittapahilla watershed, and on the QWA's past successes & ongoing work.
The material is organized in reverse chronological order (the most recent stuff is at the top).
February 2024. Quittapahilla Creek Restoration Project Downstream of Spruce St. Bridge, Annville Township
Major work on this restoration project was completed by February 1, 2024. By way of background, in December 2022 the PA Fish & Boat Commission notified Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (DFTU) that it has provisionally approved funding for this proposed project, pending a satisfactory project field review. The proposal was submitted in October 2022 by DFTU to the F&B Commission in its targeted grant program, "Tulpehocken and Quittapahilla Watershed Enhancement Program." As detailed in the Grant Application linked below, the project is intended to restore 834 linear feet of Quittapahilla Creek immediately downstream of the Spruce Street bridge in Annville Township. Project activities have occured on the privately owned property on the south bank and on the publicly owned property belonging to Annville Township on the north bank, part of Quittie Creek Nature Park. As noted in the grant application, this reach of stream comprises the upper section of one of the PA Fish & Boat Commission's Keystone Select Stocked Trout Streams. It is within a delayed harvest area and is very popular with anglers. Included below along with the grant application and other documents are three short videos taken in January 2024 documenting the work.
• Dec. 23, 2022. Letter from Fish & Boat Commission to DFTU announcing provisional approval of the proposal
• Grant Application
• Map of Project Location and Concept Plan
• Photographs of Existing Conditions
• Letters of Support
• Budget Spreadsheet
• Video 1 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/l05cdypTow4
• Video 2 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/SyI6V827iug
• Video 3 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/5yYwRRDmYgw
October 2023. Summer 2023 Intern Stream Reconnaissance Surveys: Summary of Existing Conditions and Recommendations on Gingrich Run, Killinger Creek, and Snitz Creek
This 61-page final report, also linked below (PDF file, 20 MB) offers a synopsis of the work underaken and data collected from July to August 2023 by Hannah Horengic and Ilyssa McLaughlin, two Environmental Science majors at Lebanon Valley College, along with recommendations for remediating the most severely impacted stream reaches. As noted in the report's Introduction, "The 2023 summer’s interns initially focused on the Gingrich Run and Killinger Creek subwatersheds, but the effort was expanded to include Snitz Creek subwatershed. Funding for the 2023 Intern Program was provided by the Lebanon County Conservation District (LCCD) with grant administration provided by The Lebanon Valley Conservancy." The final report was repared by Rocky Powell, Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association, Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited, The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, and the Lebanon County Conservation District. Accompanying the final report are several related items, as described below:
• Final Report: Summer Intern Stream Reconnaissance Surveys 2023. Summary of Existing Conditions and Recommendations (61 pgs., 20 MB)
• Map showing the locations of all 66 reaches assessed
• Photographs. A collection of some 2,289 photographs documenting in detail the findings in the final report, housed and viewable in this GoogleDrive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gdm9cydCi8WjCa-N7X-jT8Kk_C1MAv97?usp=sharing
• Presentation by interns at Oct. 17, 2023 QWA meeting (PDF file, 4 MB)
• Video recording of the interns' Oct. 17, 2023 Zoom presentation, housed on YouTube, at https://youtu.be/J64l3nzFAwM
• Press release by The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, 27 Oct. 2023, describing the interns' work (PDF file,
• News story: "Quittapahilla Watershed interns present findings on health of local waterways," LebTown Staff, Nov. 2, 2023, https://lebtown.com/2023/11/02/quittapahilla-watershed-interns-present-findings-on-health-of-local-waterways/ -- and in case that URL changes, a PDF file of the same news story (4 pgs., <1 MB).
• Blog entry of Mon. Oct. 30, 2023, in the PA Environment Digest by David E. Hess, "Quittapahilla Watershed Assn. Interns Present Stream Morphology Surveys On Lebanon County Streams," http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2023/10/quittapahilla-watershed-assn-interns.html
• Flier announcing the 2023 Summer Internship Program (released Jan. 2023)
August 2023. Water Quality Sampling Results
On August 14 and 15, 2023, volunteers with the QWA's Monitoring Program under the leadership of Kent Crawford collected water samples at our six monitoring sites and took them to the PA-DEP's laboratory in Harrisburg, where they were tested for a wide range of elements and compounds. The results of five of those tests appear below; the sixth is forthcoming. As expected, the test results show high concentrations of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus. Happily, the samples show low concentrations of heavy metals. Links are to small PDF files (>1MB).
BK1: Beck Creek at Bricker Lane
BM1: Bachman Run at Louser Road
K1: Killinger Creek at Killinger Road
Q1: Quittapahilla Creek at Garfield St.
Q2: Quittapahilla Creek at Palmyra-Bellegrove Road
June 2023. Beck Creek Project No. 6 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project
This collection of documents, presented here in reverse chronological order, provide a detailed accounting of the still-ongoing Beck Creek Project No. 6 in West Cornwall Township (downstream of where Beck Creek crosses Rt. 322) from Sept. 2019 to the present. We will keep adding material to this collection (and keep changing the date above under which this project is listed here on this page) until the project is completed. The most recent item is a proposal to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program, submitted in June 2023. For more on the toxic plume of legacy pollution that threatens Beck Creek in the area around Project 6, see the item further down on this page, housed under the date of August 2020.
• June 16, 2023. Growing Greener Plus Grant Application to PA-DEP (PDF file, 18 pgs., <1 MB)
• May 29, 2021. Project Summary, CCC to TLVC (PDF file, 1 pg)
• May 29, 2021, Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project Water Quality Improvement Projects Grant: Water Quality Projects along the Mariner East 2 Pipeline Project, Final Report: Technical Report Section (PDF file, 8 pgs.)
• April 15, 2021, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 1st Quarter of 2021, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 8 pgs., 3 MB)
• Dec. 15, 2020, Design of Beck Creek Stream Restoration by Clear Creeks Consulting (PDF file, 51 pgs., 35 MB)
• Oct. 15, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2020, TLVC toDEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• July 12, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 2nd Quarter of 2020, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• April 12, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 1st Quarter of 2020, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• Jan. 13, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 4th Quarter of 2019, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 5 pgs.)
• Sept. 30, 2019. Status Report on Beck 6, Rocky Powell to Ned Gibble, TLVC (PDF file, 1 pg.)
February 2023. Snitz Creek Project No. 2 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project
This collection of documents, presented here in reverse chronological order, provide a detailed accounting of the still-ongoing Snitz Creek Project 2 in Cornwall Borough, from the field surveys that began in summer 2016 and continuing up to the present. In February 2023, PA-DEP issued a "notice of grant closeout," which means that the design & permitting phase has been completed. What awaits now is the actual construction, which we hope will commence next year, after we secure another round of Growing Greener funding. We will keep adding material to this collection (and keep changing the date above under which this project is listed here on this page) until the project is completed. (Note: TLVC stands for The Lebanon Valley Conservancy; CCC stands for Clear Creeks Consulting.)
• Feb. 7, 2023. PA-DEP to TLVC, Notice of Grant Closeout (PDF file, 2 pp.)
• Dec. 22, 2022. PA-DEP to Cornwall Boro Re: Enviromental Assessment of Snitz 2 Project (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• Dec. 20, 2022. PA-DEP, Growning Greener Goals & Accomplishments Form (PDF file, 18 pp.)
• Dec. 20, 2022. Grant Final Report / Project Closeout & Final Application for Reimbursement (PDF file, 22 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2022. Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 7 pp.)
• July 15, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 6 pp.)
• July 15, 2022. Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 8 pp.)
• April 18, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• April 18, 2022. Submission of App. for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 1st Qtr. 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 9 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Jan. 11, 2022. News clip from Lebanon Daily News on MS4 land sale to Cornwall Boro (JPEG, 1 p.)
• Dec. 8, 2021, "He wanted to help Snitz Creek. Instead, he watched Sunoco pollute it," StateImpact PA (PDF 9 pp.)
• Oct. 16, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• July 18, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• May 3, 2021. Time Extension Request Form on Snitz 2, TLVC to PA-DEP (PDF file, 1 p.)
• April 15, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Feb. 17, 2021. Restart Report on Sunoco Pipeline LP Mariner East PA Pipeline Project (PDF file, 93 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 5 pp.)
• Aug. 14, 2020. Snitz Creek Project Schedule, CCC for TLVC (PDF file, 1 p.)
• July 12, 2020. Submission of Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2, 4/1/20--6/30/20, TLVC (PDF file, 8 pp.)
• July 12, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• April 12, 2020. Submission of App. for Reimbursement on Snitz 2, 6/26/19--3/31/20, TLVC (PDF file, 11 pp.)
• April 12, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2019, TLVC (PDF file, 5 pp.)
• Nov. 4, 2019. PowerPoint: Snitz 2 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project, CCC for Cornwall Boro (PDF file, 15 pp.)
• Aug. 28, 2019. Krall Property Meeting Document, prepared by CCC (PDF, 20 pp.
• May 10, 2019. Snitz 2 Contract between CCC and TLVC (PDF, 8 pp.)
• Oct. 24, 2018. Award letter for Snitz 2 from PA-DEP to TLVC in the amount of $159,094.
• July 2018. Snitz 2 Stream Restoration Project Growing Greener Grant App., CCC for the QWA (PDF file, 37 pp.)
• May 23, 2017. Snitz Creek Restoration Project Photographic Survey & Data Collection Report from 2016 fieldwork by Intern Sam Soliday and Rocky Powell, CCC President (PDF file, 152 pp.)
January 2023. Snitz Creek Project No. 4: Proposed Stream Restoration & Stormwater Retrofit, Cornwall Borough
Good news! In January 2023, PA-DEP announced that this project proposal was awarded $196,028 in the 2022 round of Growing Greener funding -- the only project in Lebanon County to be awarded funding in this round (see the PA-DEP website at https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/GrantsLoansRebates/Growing-Greener/Pages/default.aspx). The proposal, submitted to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program in June 2022, proposed the restoration of 1,845 linear feet of Snitz Creek and an existing dry detention pond serving Cornwall Hills Subdivision in Cornwall Borough, retrofitted to provide water quality management of runoff from the subdivision that discharges into the project reaches. The proposal was prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting in collaboration with Rich Starr of Ecosystem Planning & Restoration and submitted by QWA President Michael Schroeder on behalf of the QWA and Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited. Congratulations, DFTU!
1. Detailed Description of Snitz Creek Project No. 4 (15 MB)
2. Growing Greener Plus Final Application, June 2022
3. Location Map
4. Site Map
5. Aerial image showing project limits
6. Concept Plan for Reach 1
7. Concept Plan for Reach 2
8. Concept Plan for Reach 3
9. Concept Plan for Reach 4
10. Concept Plan for Stormwater Management Pond
Below are the files from our first failed effort to secure funding for this project from PA-DEP's Growing Greener program in Dec. 2019:
1. Detailed Description of Snitz Creek Project No. 4 (42 MB)
2. Growing Greener Final Application, Dec. 2019 (2.3 MB)
3. Location Map
4. Site Map
5. Letters of Commitment from Project Partners for Matching Component
June 2022. Snitz Creek 18 and Upper 19 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project
This proposal, prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, is intended to restore approximately 2,208 linear feet of Snitz Creek as a stable E4/C4 stream channel; repair a failing low head dam to maintain the water supply to adjacent farm pond and maintain the hydrology for the 15.82 acre permanently flooded wetland system along the adjacent and upstream floodplains; excavate a small baseflow channel along the right floodplain to provide fish passage around the dam and into upper stream reaches; plug and/or modify existing drainage ditches to restore full hydrologic conditions to the existing 4.26 acre emergent wetlands along the right floodplain.
Unfortunately the proposal was not submitted to the last round of Growing Greener Plus, deadline June 24, 2022, because the property management company that mangages the Lowe's property on Quentin Road refused to sign onto the project. This issue sparked a public controversy that was the subject of local media attention in September 2022, as seen in the last two items linked below. We hope that the property owners and property management company will change their minds so that a viable proposal will be submitted in the next round of Growing Greener funding, so that this much-needed stream restoration work can take place.
• Snitz Creek 18 and Upper 19 Online Project Application Information (17 June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Aerial Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Location Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Site Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Leb. Co. Planning Dept. Land Use Consistency Letter
• Snitz 18-19 Existing Conditions Photographs
• "I find this morally reprehensible: Snitz Creek restoration at a standstill," Daniel Larlham,
Lebanon Daily News, Mon. Sept. 12, 2022. PDF file of the online version of the same article
(carrying a different headline).
• "Viewpoint: Saving the Chesapake One Waterway at a Time," Michael Schroeder, QWA President,
Lebanon Daily News, Wed. Sept. 14, 2022. PDF file of same op-ed.
May 2022. Spruce St. Bridge Area Stream Reconstruction & Fishing Access Project on the Quittapahilla Mainstem, Annville Township
This proposal from ARM Group, LLC to Russ Collins of Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (PDF file, 5 MB) represents the design & permitting phase (phase 1), including a description of the scope of work, an estimated budget, and a site map for a creek enhancement & fishing access improvement project in Annville Township, upstream and downstream of the Spruce St. Bridge, at an estimated cost of nearly $46,000. The proposal was not submitted in time for Annville Township to review and approve it before the June 24 deadline for the 2022 round of Growing Greener Plus funding from PA-DEP. A revised version of this proposal was submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission in October 2022 in a targeted grant program, housed above under October 2022.
December 2021. Bachman Run Stream Restoration Project (Bachman & Horst Properties), South Annville Township
The reaches along this part of Bachman Run, just south of Rt. 322 in South Annville Township, were historically straightened. Geomorphic assessment conducted in summer 2019 indicated laterally unstable stream reaches due to meander redevelopment along some sections, livestock trampling throughout, and maintenance of riparian vegetation. Streambanks are mowed pasture grasses to top of bank with a narrow unmowed strip to edge of water. This area totally lacks trees or shrubs that would stabilize the banks and shade the channel. Stability problems include high width to depth ratio, bank erosion, heavy sedimentation, and aggradation (lateral and mid-channel bars). The Bachman Run – Bachman and Horst Properties Stream Restoration Project will restore 2,781 linear feet of in-stream and riparian habitat along the mainstem Bachman Run. The project will also convert heavily impacted pasture into half an acre of emergent wetlands in the adjacent floodplain. Stream restoration will utilize a natural channel design approach that includes sediment removal along areas with heavy sedimentation; adjustments to unstable meander geometry; regrading steep banks; installing toe wood, log and boulder structures to stabilize streambanks and create in-stream habitat; adjusting the location of livestock fencing to increase undisturbed riparian buffer width; upgrading and stabilizing existing livestock crossings; invasive plant removal; and establishing a 35 foot riparian buffer with plantings of native trees and shrubs. The proposal for $161,081 was prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and submitted to PA-DEP by Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited in March 2021, with approval received in Dec. 2021.
• December 3, 2021. Letter from PA-DEP to Russ Collins, DFTU announcing EPA 319 funding (PDF file, 2 pp.).
• March 15, 2021. Proposal from Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited to PA-DEP for Bachman Run Stream Restoration Project (21 pg. PDF file).
• October 2019. Proposal from Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited to PA Fish & Boat Commission for the same project (21 pp. PDF file, 15.2 MB). The Fish & Boat Commission did not fund the proposal.
November 2021. Killinger Creek Restoration Project (Huber/Burkholder Properties), South Annville Township
This project will restore some 1,400 linear feet of Killinger Creek in South Annville Township on the Huber and Burkholder properties, and include an associated riparian buffer and restored wetland. A grant of $130,000 for the design and permitting phase of this project was secured from the Conservation Fund via the Delaware Riverkeeper Network from a fine paid by Transco Pipeline Company, LLC, for numerous violations of environmental laws during pipeline construction in Pennsylvania. The recipient and administrator of the grant is the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the contractor and project manager for the project is Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC. It should be noted that this project is a substantially revised version of the proposal submitted by Bill Wall of Steckbeck Engineering in June 2018 for Sunoco Penalty Grant funding (see below), which was not funded. The $130,000 grant will fund the design and permitting, not the actual construction, funds for which will have to come from another grant.
• Nov. 6, 2021. Contract agreement between Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited and Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC (PDF file, 4 pgs.).
• August—October 2021. This 33 page PDF file (4 MB) contains the following documents: (1) Award Agreement from the Transco/Delaware Riverkeeper Network Environmental Restoration Fund between The Conservation Fund and Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited, Oct. 5, 2021. (2) Exhibit A. Project Proposal and Budget. Includes Aug. 12, 2021 contract agreement between Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited and Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and Design and Permitting Scope of Work and Budget. (3) Exhibit B. Copies of Adjoining Landowner Executed and Notarized Right of Entry Agreements, Oct. 5, 2021.
September 2021. Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium's Quittapahilla Creek Floodplain Restoration Design Update
This 15-page report (PDF file, 6 MB) by LandStudies commissioned by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium offers a very welcome update on the planned streambank reconstruction to take place along some 1,800 feet of the Quittapahilla mainstem from the end of the Hazel Dike to the 22nd Street Bridge. The project will be funded by the MS4-mandated stormwater management fees imposed on property owners within the six municipalities comprising the Consortium: the City of Lebanon, the Cleona Borough Authority, and the townships of Annville, North Cornwall, North Lebanon, and South Lebanon. For the minutes of the Stormwater Consortium, see the website of the Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities > Document Library.
April 2021. PennFuture Report: "Underfunded and Polluted: Solutions to Fund Clean Water in Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed"
This hard-hitting, fact-based 44-page report (PDF file, 3 MB) assesses "Pennsylvania’s role in Chesapeake Bay restoration" and concludes that "Now is the time to act. To date, Pennsylvania has significantly lagged in meeting milestones established in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) by 2025—the Bay’s so-called “pollution diet” set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). . . . This report describes the pollution problems Pennsylvania faces in the Susquehanna and Potomac River basins and explores the history of restoration efforts. Looking forward, the report puts forth a legislative agenda that achieves the $521 million funding need as well as meets the Commonwealth’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL goals. The policy recommendations made in this report fall under six categories" that appear in the report, also accessible online at https://www.pennfuture.org/Files/Admin/Final-Chesapeake-report.pdf.
February 2021. Snitz Creek Mariner East Pipeline Drilling Spills Yield $500K Fine and a New Drilling Plan: Restart Report of RETTEW to Energy Transfer Partners (Sunoco) re: N. Zinn’s Mill Rd. Horizontal Directional Drillling (HDD) in West Cornwall Twp, Lebanon Co. PA
This detailed, richly illustrated, so-called "Restart Report" paid for by Energy Transfer Partners / Sunoco (PDF file, 9 MB) presents "site details and an evaluation of the inadvertent return (IR) that occurred during efforts to advance the 26-inch diameter reamer from the east end of Sunoco Pipeline LP’s (SPLP) S3-0101-16, North Zinn’s Mill Road horizontal directional drill (HDD) on October 19, 2020 in West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. This report includes an updated timeline of site activity that has occurred since the PA-DEP-approved the restart of drilling on September 23, 2020." Also included are JPEG files of a story published in the Lebanon Daily News on March 10, 2021 summarizing why ETP/Sunoco was fined early $500,000 for its environmental violations. Page 1. Page 2.
February 2021. York Daily Record Series of articles on "Killing the Chesapeake Bay"
We are posting this important series here in hopes that the York Daily Record does not object, because our only interest is educational and helping to spread the word about this excellent series of articles representing the best of investigative journalism. We hope to work with the York Daily Record to publicize this outstanding series on how human activities are "killing the Chesapeake Bay." We gratefully acknowlege & credit the work of the following individuals. REPORTING: Mike Argento (York, Pa.), Julia Rentsch (Salisbury, Md.), Frank Bodani (York, Pa.), Jeff Platsky (Binghamton, N.Y.). PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY: Paul Kuehnel (York, Pa.), Kaisha Young (Salisbury, Md.), Kate Collins (Binghamton, N.Y.), John Buffone (York, Pa.) EDITORS: Scott Fisher, Randy Parker, Kevin Hogan, Laura Benedict Sileo, Tammy Paolino. DIGITAL PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Spencer Holladay. SOCIAL MEDIA, ENGAGEMENT AND PROMOTION: Jackee Coe, Sarah Robinson, Anthony Dimattia, Elyse Toribio, Michelle Ganassi, Erik Gliedman, Robbie Gutierrez. URL: https://www.ydr.com/in-depth/news/2021/02/02/pennsylvania-polluted-susquehanna-river-poisoning-chesapeake-bay-what-can-done/3766011001/ All links are to PDF files averaging 3-4 MB, up to a maximum of 8 MB.
1. PA's polluted Susquehanna River is poisoning the bay. What can be done
2. Why Pennsylvania is failing Chesapeake Bay — and how it affects you
3. The Susquehanna River: A family's mission to promote, protect it
4. From Otsego Lake, Susquehanna goes south — figuratively, literally
5. Old mill dams, farming cause of pollution in Susquehanna, Chesapeake
6. Chesapeake pollution: Conowingo dam's toxic muck vexing problem for bay
7. Sewage near Pa. capitol deluge Susquehanna River with E. coli
8. 5 things government can do to save the Chesapeake and Susquehanna
9. How you can help save Chesapeake Bay and restore the Susquehanna River
10. 3 iconic Susquehanna River aquatic species struggle to survive
11. The Eastern Hellbender is 'canary in the coal mine' in the Susquehanna
12. Dead creek runs orange with acid mine discharge, poisoning Susquehanna
13. Susquehanna River: Paddling all 444 miles transports into another world
14. Flathead catfish: Fishing for monsters in the Susquehanna River
15. A pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay: Total Maximum Daily Load
January 2021. WIP-2021: Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan, Final Revised & Updated Version of 27 Jan. 2021 (updated from Aug. 2018 WIP)
Years in the making, this 234-page document (PDF file, 47 MB) will serve as our roadmap for our work in the watershed for the coming decade at least. It offers a slightly updated and final version of the WIP-2018, housed below. The updates include the revised Tables 26, 27 and 28 with Target TMDLs for subwatersheds and mainstem, and a revised Volunteer Monitoring Program. Prepared for Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, 1317 Knopp Rd, Jarrettsville MD, 21084, and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant.
August 2020. Investigation of Toxic Legacy Plume on Beck Creek: Draft Remedial Investigation Report (RIR) of Quentin Terminal / Cornwall Pump Station off Butler Rd. & Rt. 322, West Cornwall Township
In the more than six decades from 1931 to 1994, a pump station called Quentin Terminal, also called the Cornwall Pump Station, made up of several large storage and distribution tanks for gasoline and other petroleum products, was operating on the southeast corner of Rt. 322 and Butler Road on a rise overlooking the valley through which Beck Creek flows just to the east. During those 60-plus years, substantial quantities of this gasoline and other petrochemicals were spilled and leaked into the ground. The first five PDF files listed below comprise the draft Remedial Investigation Report prepared by Aquaterra Technologies, Inc. on behalf of Pipeline Operations of Evergreen Resources Management Group, in turn contracted by Sunoco, Inc., the owner of the site and of the Mariner East pipeline corridor, which passes right through this toxic legacy site. The report offers a fascinating and chillingly detailed study of the toxic legacy petrochemical contamination in this area. As these data show, the toxic plume is still spreading to the north and east here in the rock formations in the Beck Creek watershed. The sixth and seventh items are comment letters on the draft RIR dated 13 Nov. 2020, the first by Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc., and the second by the West Cornwall Twp Public Involvement Committee. Both offer substantive criticism of the draft RIR and urge further investigation and remediation measures.
1. Cover letter from Evergreen to West Cornwall Twp. Supervisors, 31 Aug. 2020 (<1 MB)
2. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, Cornwall Pump Station, 31 Aug. 2020 (72 pages, 17.7 MB)
3. Appendix A. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (2,137 pages, 258 MB)
4. Figures and Maps. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (30 pages, 15.4 MB)
5. Tables. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (21 pages, <1 MB)
6. Comment Letter of Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc. on Draft RIR, 13 Nov. 2020 (2 MB)
7. Comment Letter of W. Cornwall Twp Public Involvement Cmte to Evergreen on Draft RIR, 13 Nov. 2020 (<1 MB)
October 2019. Final Report, Summer 2019 Internship on Bachman Run
The final report is forthcoming soon. Meantime we include the following documents, which provide forms, templates, and guidelines to the summer interns undertaking the work:.
1. BANCS Field Form ("Bank and Nonpoint Source Consequences of Sediment")
2. Bank Erosion Potential Rating Guide
3. Pebble Count Data Form
4. David L. Rosgen, "A Practical Method of Computing Streambank Erosion Rate"
5. Riffle Embeddedness Field Guide
6. Stream Invertebrates Field Guide (NWCC Technical Note 99-1, Stream Visual Assessment Protocol, Dec. 1998).
7. Stream Visual Assessment Field Data Summary form
8. Stream Visual Assessment Field Form
9. Summer Intern Stream Assessment Guidelines (prepared by Rocky Powell)
August 2019. Snitz Creek Project No. 3 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project, Cornwall Borough
The Snitz Creek 3 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project will restore 1,000 linear feet of in-stream and riparian habitat along the mainstem Snitz Creek, converting 150 linear feet of a tributary into 1,000 linear feet of stream channel that meanders across the restored floodplain. The floodplain restoration will create 1.2 – 1.5 acres of emergent and scrub-shrub wetlands that will provide water quality treatment for runoff from more than 388 acres of cultivated fields. The proposal was submitted for EPA 319 funding in August 2019 by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, with Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited as the applicant. The proposal requests $167,541, with local match of $28,500, for a total cost of $196.041.
Snitz Creek Project 3: Completed Online Application Form
Snitz Creek Project 3: Supporting Documentation (PDF file, 15 MB)
Snitz Creek Project 3: Location Map
Snitz Creek Project 3: Site Map
July 2019. Concept Maps for Snitz Creek Project No. 4
These six concept maps for Snitz Creek Project No. 4 sketch out Rocky Powell's vision of how best to restore this section of the stream. They are placed here so that landowners in the project area have easy access to them. The project area is located on the East Fork of Snitz Creek, from Cornwall Road to the confluence with the Snitz Creek mainstem. Length: 2,790 feet. Total estimated cost: $927,715 (see page 173 of the August 2018 WIP, accessible below).
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 1
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 2
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 3
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 4
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 5
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 6
December 2018. Beck Creek Erosion Survey by Summer 2018 Interns Brittany Weaver & Kyla O'Connor
This report assessing Beck Creek (PDF file, 303 pages, 72 MB) was produced by the QWA's summer 2018 interns, Lebanon Valley College students Brittany Weaver and Kyla O'Connor. The report divides the Beck Creek watershed into 19 sections and assesses 10 of them (nine sections were not assessed due to insufficient time, the instructions of Rocky Powell, or a lack of landowner permission to enter the property). For the 10 assessed sections, the report includes data on pebble counts, flow regime, bed form, riparian vegetation, sediment supply, meander pattern, streambed vertical stability, depositional pattern, channel blockages, channel alterations, and erosion dynamics, including bank height, bankful, root depth, root density, bank angle, surface protection, bank material, and near bank stress (NBS). Also notable is its concluding section, "Fun on Beck Creek & Wildlife!!" The work was made possible thanks to generous grants from Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited and North Cornwall Township, whom we thank for their support.
August 2018. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP 2018)
This PDF file (48 MB, 234 pgs.) of the August 2018 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP 2018) represents the deliverables for PA-DEP's April 2016 Growing Greener grant of $26,500 (see below). Prepared for the Watershed Association by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, the WIP 2018 is based on nearly 20 years of research & study and offers a detailed roadmap for the next 20 years for projects to improve the water quality in the watershed. The plan covers the entire watershed but focuses mainly on sections of waterways outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium (City of Lebanon, North Lebanon Twp, South Lebanon Twp, North Cornwall Twp, Cleona Borough Authority, and Annville Twp) and two MS4-mandated municipalities outside the Consortium (South Annville Twp and Cornwall Borough). Tributaries flowing into the mainstem of special interest are Snitz Creek, Beck Creek, Bachman Run, Killinger Creek, and Gingrich Run. The WIP also specifies the QWA's pre- and post-construction monitoring obligatigations in the watershed, the results of which will be housed on this page when the time comes. Meantime we post here a PDF file of Rocky Powell's PowerPoint presentation (24 MB) publicly unveiling the WIP at the Annville Town Hall on Sept. 26, 2018.
July 2018. Growing Greener Grant Proposals
These two grant proposals were developed by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and submitted to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program in July 2018 by the Watershed Association in partnership with The Lebanon Valley Conservancy -- essentially the same proposals as Beck Creek Project B6 and Snitz Creek Project S2, below, submitted to PA-DEP in June 2018 for Sunoco Penalty Grant funding. For privacy reasons, the signed Landowner Letters of Commitment have been removed from the proposals.
Beck Creek No. 6 Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map
Snitz Creek No. 2 Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map
June 2018. Sunoco Penalty Grant Proposals (with award decisions of October 2018)
The spring 2018 Sunoco Penalty Grant opportunity (closed on June 20, 2018) yielded nine proposals for the Quittapahilla watershed submitted by five non-profit entities — three by the QWA in partnership with The Lebanon Valley Conservancy (TLVC), with the crucial help of Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (DFTU) — one by South Annville Township — one by Cornwall Borough — and four by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium.
This map shows the locations of all nine of these project proposals. (It also shows a tenth project currently being undertaken by DFTU, with funding from the PA Fish & Boat Commission, on Lower Snitz Creek -- Snitz Project S24.) The nine proposals, submitted on 20 June 2018, are summarized & linked below. Also included are PA-DEP's award decisions, announced on October 24.
1. Killinger Creek Project K5. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding for the design, permit, and construction of a 1400-foot stream stabilization and restoration with an associated riparian buffer and a restored wetland on Killinger Creek in South Annville Township. Projected cost: $129,535. Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was not funded.
2. Beck Creek Project B6. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding to restore 2,000 linear feet of Beck Creek from the Route 322 bridge to the meander near Spangler Road in West Cornwall Township. Projected Cost: $874,822. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was funded in the amount of $150,774 (see the award letter) -- 17% of the amount requested.
3. Snitz Creek Project S2. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding to restore 2,300 linear feet of Snitz Creek from the culvert outfall downstream of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail to the culvert upstream of Culvert Road in Cornwall Borough. Projected Cost: $862,666. Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was funded in the amount of $159,094 (see the award letter) -- 18% of the amount requested.
4. Bachman Run Project B15. Proposed by South Annville Township. Seeks funding to stablilize approximately 310 linear feet of Bachman Run between Louser Road and Reigerts Lane, plant a riparian buffer of native vegetation, and manage stormwater discharge from two regulated outfalls. Projected Cost: $112,000. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October 2018, South Annville Township was informed by PA-DEP that it was awarded $92,000 of the $112,00 requested.
5. Snitz Creek Project Upstream of S1. Proposed by Cornwall Borough. Seeks funding for four stormwater management basins, a vegetated swale, and a riparian buffer on several properties along the upper reaches of Snitz Creek owned by Cornwall Borugh in the Goosetown neighborhood (between Anthracite Road and Rexmont Road, upstream of the project designated as Project S1). Projected Cost: $166,400. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, Cornwall Borough was informed that it was awarded the entire amount requested: $166,400.
6. Unnamed Tributary / Clover Drive Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a retrofit of an existing detention basin located on Clover Drive (next to the intersection of Barberry Lane) in South Lebanon Township. Projected Cost: $66,900. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was awarded the entire amount requested: $66,900.
7. Upper Quittapahilla Mainstem / Hickory Blvd. Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a retrofit of an existing stormwater detention basis located on Hickory Blvd. in the upper reaches of the Upper Quittapahilla mainstem in South Lebanon Township. Projected Cost: $81,600. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was awarded the entire amount requested: $81,600.
8. Upper Quittapahilla Mainstem Project UQ2 & UQ3. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a wetlands basin at the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center that will capture & retain stormwater and allow for the infiltration of stormwater and recharge of the groundwater aquifer. Projected cost: $430,500. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was not funded.
9. South Hills Park Rain Gardens Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for five rain gardens (bioretention basins) at South Hills Park at the headwaters of an unnamed tributary of Quittapahilla Creek in South Lebanon Township. Projected cost: $140,700. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was not funded.
Total amount requested for these nine projects (June 2018): $2,866,152.
Total amount awarded for six of the nine projects (Oct. 2018): $716,768.
April 2018. Sunoco Penalty Grant Information | Map of Consortium Areas & Eligible Municipalities | Prioritized Projects in Maps & Tables
The following documents were targeted to stakeholders involved in the Sunoco Penalty Grant-writing process. The submission period opened on May 7 and closed on June 20, 2018, yielding the nine proposals listed above.
1. Sunoco Penalty Grant Information Sheet
2. Map of Watershed Showing Consortium MS4 Areas and Sunoco Penalty Grant Eligible Municipalities
3. Maps of Restoration Projects in the Five Eligible Municipalities (east to west)
• South Lebanon Township
• Cornwall Borough
• West Cornwall Township
• South Annville Township
• South Londonderry Township
4. Prioritized Stream Projects, by Subwatershed (color-coded table)
5. Final Sunoco Grant Penalty Projects, by Municipality (table)
6. Projects Recommended for SESI, and Projects Recommended for QWA / CCC / AARC (rev. 18.05.18)
7. Leb. Daily News story on Cornwall Borough & Sunoco Penalty Grant, 19 May 2018
8. PA-DEP Grant Application (in Word).
The Watershed Association gratefully acknowledges the work of Rocky Powell in developing items 3-6. Items 1 and 2 produced by Michael Schroeder. Item 7 is included because it conveys commonly held but inaccurate understandings about the nature & scope of this grant opportunity, and PA-DEP grants generally, as expressed in a Cornwall Borough Council meeting -- assertions later retracted by Jeff Steckbeck and rectified by Cornwall Borough Council (in fact, Sunoco Penalty Grant-funded projects could and can be included in MS4 calculations; there was no risk of a DEP fine; and there is no "catch" to these grants).
October 2017. Joint Pollutant Reduction Plan for the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium
This 732 page pollutant reduction plan (PDF file, at a massive 354 MB) represents the combined efforts of the six Lebanon County Municipalities comprising "the Consortium": Annville Township, the City of Lebanon, Cleona Borough Authority, North Cornwall Township, North Lebanon Township, and South Lebanon Township. Heavily laden with maps and data, the plan is based primarily on Rocky Powell's 2006 study (see below). It offers a highly detailed inventory of these municipalities' current stormwater management infrastructure, and a general roadmap for future initiatives relating to stormwater management and for improving the water quality in the watershed, in compliance with the federal EPA's Clean Water Act mandates. A draft of the report is housed on the website of the Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, at http://www.lebanoncountyredevelopment.com/ For our purposes, Section E (pp. 609-620) is perhaps the most relevant. Everything up to this point is basically a spatial, map-based inventory of currently existing stormwater management infrastructure and quantifications of stormwater loads. Section E is titled "Select BMPs to Achieve the Minimum Required Reductions in Pollutant Loading". Section E is taken mainly from Rocky Powell's 2006 study (see below). Page 609 thus marks the beginning of the report's discussion of the plan moving forward. We have pulled this section out of the report and created a separate 12-page PDF file comprised of Section E.
May-June 2017. Snitz Creek Restoration Project: Photographic Survey & Data Collection
This 152-page report (PDF file, 70 MB) was produced by QWA intern Samuel Soliday (student in Geo Environmental Studies at Shippensburg University) in collaboration with Rocky Powell (President, Clear Creeks Consulting). The report offers a detailed survey of the Snitz Creek watershed for the in-progress Watershed Implementation Plan. The QWA offers its sincere & hearty thanks to Sam for his excellent work.
March 2017. Rocky Powell's PowerPoint Presentation on the In-Progress Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP)
This 108-slide presentation, accessible here in a PDF file (46 MB), based mainly on Rocky's 2006 study (accessible below) offers a detailed summary of the many impairments of the Quittapahilla watershed and a plan of action for moving forward, with the formation of five working groups that will shape the final WIP, which is expected to be completed in spring 2018. This document is also accessible on the "Projects & Grants" page of this website.
January 2017. Proposal to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus Grant Program for Cleona Stream Restoration Project
This 5-page proposal, prepared by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLP, is for the design phase of the Cleona Quittie Creek Restoration Project. In the words of the proposal, "we intend to utilize the funding provided under this grant to complete the assessment, design plans and permitting for the entire project area. Future grants will be utilized to complete construction by reach in two separate phases. The first phase of construction is planned for 2019."
January 2017. Contract Between Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy for Development of a Final Watershed Implementation Plan
This contract (PDF file, 7 pgs.) between Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC (Rocky Powell, Pres.) and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy is for the development of a final Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the entire Quittapahilla watershed. The Watershed Association's responsibilities under this contract are specified mainly on the final page of the document: (1) Planning meetings and decision making process to identify projects; (2) Coordinating with townships, the City of Lebanon, and Lebanon County representatives; (3) Initiating contact with landowners to explain Project Planning and Goals and confirm their interest in participating; (4) Developing and implementing a public education, participation, and outreach strategy; and (5) Developing and implementing a monitoring component to track projects and document that the watershed plan is being implemented. The anticipated date for the "deliverable" (the final WIP) is 31 May 2018.
October 2016. Center for Watershed Protection, "Final Report, Cooperative Restoration Strategy," with "Lebanon County Retrofit Report," prepared for the Lebanon County Clean Water Alliance
These two reports — "Final Report, Lebanon County PA, Cooperative Restoration Strategy" (PDF file, 3.5 MB) and "Lebanon County Retrofit Field Investigation" (PDF file, 3.9 MB) — were produced by the Center for Watershed Protection for the Lebanon County Clean Water Alliance (LCCWA, of which the Quittapahilla Watershed Association is a member) thanks to a Technical Assistance Grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. The first report seeks to build the capacity of the LCCWA to develop a cohesive county-wide pollution reduction plan for reducing non-point source pollution delivered via stormwater runoff. The Retrofit Field Investigation summarizes the findings of a study on the feasibility and benefit of implementing control measures to meet the Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Plan for five municipalities in Lebanon County: Palmyra Borough, North Lebanon Township, South Annville Township, the City of Lebanon, and South Londonderry Township.
September 2016. Temperature & Dissolved Oxygen Information for Trout Management in Quittapahilla Creek — Proposal to PA Fish & Boat Commission
This 22-page proposal submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission by Dr. Rebecca A. Urban, Associate Professor of Biology at Lebanon Valley College, in partnership with the QWA, the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the Lebanon County Conservation District, proposed to undertake a study to be conducted in summer 2017 to evaluate the suitability of Quittie Creek to support a year-round trout fishery. The proposal would have involved continuous monitoring of temperature and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the hottest months of the year, to be undertaken by summer student interns working under the supervision of Dr. Urban. Sadly, the proposal was not funded, but we keep it here as a reminder of the work that remains.
September 2016. Lower Snitz Creek Restoration Project: Hershey Property — Proposal to PA Fish & Boat Commission
This 28-page proposal submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission by the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited in response to a targeted grant opportunity proposed a stream stabilization project in the amount of $147,562 to restore 1,200 linear feet of Lower Snitz Creek on the Hershey Property and Swiss Premium Dairy Property. A close reading of the proposal shows that this part of the watershed is desperately in need of restoration. Decisions for this and the above proposal (Temp & Dissolved O2) were announced in December 2016. As noted above, the Temp & Dissolved O2 study was not funded, but this proposal was -- to the tune of $115,000. Now Doc Fritchey needs to figure out how to make up the $35,000 shortfall.
May 2016. Benthic Macroinvertebrates Used as a Biomonitoring Tool To Assess Quittapahilla Creek Water Quality
This 16-page report, prepared by Lebanon Valley College student Bryce Betz under the supervision of LVC Associate Professor of Biology Rebecca A. Urban, evaluates macroinvertebrate communities upstream & downstream of Phase I of the Quittie Creek Restoration Project. It compares samples collected in September & October 2015 (after the project's completion) with samples collected in Sept. & Oct. 2013, before the project commenced. The data show a decline in macroinvertebrate populations downstream of the project area, attributed to disruptions during construction and the time it takes for macroinvertebrate communities to reestablish themselves. The data provide an important baseline for subsequent annual monitoring.
June 2015. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan
This 8-page proposal to the PA-DEP's Growing Greener grant program, submitted by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, on behalf of the Quittapahilla Watershed Association and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy, proposes the development of a Watershed Implementation Plan focused especially on the Quittapahilla mainstem and its main tributaries. The "deliverable" for this proposal is an "EPA 319 Watershed Implementation Plan approved by PA-DEP and US-EPA." The proposal's request for a grant of $26,250 was approved in April 2016, as seen in this award letter.
August 2013. Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration, Phase I - Construction Scope of Work and Budget
This is the executive summary of the scope of work (PDF file, 5 pgs., 128 KB) included with the QWA's application to the PA-DEP for a Growing Greener Grant, submitted in August 2013. Because of the high cost of implementing the whole of the streambank stabilization project described below (the "Design Report" and the "Maps" listed below under May 2012), the QWA decided to split the project into two phases. This is the scope of work for Phase I, which covers roughly half of the total linear feet of contemplated streambank stabilization (ca. 1,750 feet, from about 500 feet upstream of the Raymond Swingholm Pedestrian Bridge to the small footbridge on Paul "Stumpy" Graham's land just off Bachman Road).
May 2013. Draft Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the Quittapahilla Watershed
This 49-page Draft Watershed Implementation Plan (PDF file, 3.7 MB) was prepared by the Quittapahilla Watershed Association in an effort spearheaded by principal author Brett Long, to whom the QWA extends its hearty gratitude. Building on the work of Powell (2006), the QWA's May 2013 WIP offers authoritative synopses of the watershed's historic and current impairments; models, measurements & targeted reductions in Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs); existing and future Best Management Practices (BMPs); technical & financial assistance; funding sources; implementation schedule; current and future monitoring; remedial actions; and related topics typically included in professionally produced WIPs. After reviewing the document, the PA-DEP was of the opinion that this draft WIP required substantial revision before it could be accepted. The QWA therefore commissioned Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, to prepare a Growing Greener grant proposal for a freshly conceived WIP; this grant proposal was submitted in June 2015 (see above).
March-May 2013. Permits for Quittie Creek Nature Park Streambank Stabilization Project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers & PA-DEP
The required permits for the Quittie Creek Nature Park Streambank Stabilization Project are here: from PA-DEP (March 2013) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (May 2013).
June 2012. Quittie Creek Nature Park Stream Restoration Project In-Stream Physical Habitat and Fish Cover Monitoring Report.
Prepared by Charles A. McGarrell, Regional Habitat Biologist for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Division of Habitat Management, this 12-page report (PDF file, 1 MB) offers a rigorous scientific assessment of Quittie Creek's capacity to support fish & other aquatic life in the section of the creek where the restoration project is planned (see the two reports below). Its main findings: that the creek here has much more accumulated silt & muck than it ought to; that its banks are eroding and unstable; that it's too wide and too slow, with too few "pools" and too many "runs"; that its fish population is comparatively low; and that its capacity to support aquatic life would be measurably enhanced by the Stream Restoration Project described in the next two documents.
May 2012. Design Report for Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration Project
This 28-page design report (PDF file, 1.2 MB) was prepared for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Clear Creeks Consulting LLC in collaboration with Skelly & Loy, Inc. and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant. The Design Report offers a more detailed description & analysis of the projected stream restoration project discussed on the Projects & Grants page of this website. It includes discussions of the watershed's climate, physiography, geology, soils, land use, hydrology, wetlands, in-stream biological communities & habitats, channel morphology & stability assessment, and restoration design, as well as photographs of streambank erosion and a map of the project site area.
May 2012. Maps Detailing Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration Project
These 32 pages of exquisitely detailed & multicolored maps, graphs & diagrams (PDF file, 43.2 MB) were prepared for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Clear Creeks Consulting LLC in collaboration with Skelly & Loy, Inc. and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant. They offer an exceptionally vivid graphic representation of exactly what the Quittie Nature Park stream restoration project will entail along every foot of its projected 3,450-foot length.
February 2010. Snitz Creek Park Wetland Mitigation Bank Prospectus
This 11-page prospectus (PDF file, 1.3 MB) was prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The goal of the project described in this prospectus is "to create approximately 4.0 acres of Palustrine emergent, Palustrine scrub shrub and open water wetland habitats and approximately 2 acres of riparian buffer. The objective of the wetland bank is to provide mitigation for unavoidable wetland impacts on future PennDOT projects, especially bridge and roadway projects on the Lebanon County (LEBCO) MPO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This bank will serve the Lower Susquehanna Watershed. . . . A walking trail, wildlife habitat structures and educational kiosks will be incorporated into the site design so as to enhance the use of the site."
April 2007. Growing Greener Grant Application
This 3-page grant application (PDF file, 1 MB) sought funding for the design, permitting & construction of the first Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation. BMP Site 3 (just south of Chestnut St. on the west side of Lebanon) was one of nine available sites identified in the December 2006 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 2 - Restoration and Management Plan (see below). Site 3 was selected as the first site for implementation because Lebanon County owns most of the land area required to construct the BMP and has agreed to donate the land for this use. Once constructed, this BMP will remove sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous from the watershed. The project ran into obstacles and has not yet been implemented, but it remains on the QWA agenda.
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 1 - Findings Report
This authoritative & detailed report by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC, represents the culmination of the 2001 Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant and builds on his June 2003 Preliminary Findings Report. In Powell's words, "This Final Findings Report [Vol. 1] and Restoration and Management Plan [Vol 2] constitute the deliverables for Phase 1B and describe/document all of the work completed on the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Project with both Environmental Stewardship Grants."
Executive Summary
Cover Page & Table of Contents
Findings Report
References
Plates
Plate 1 - Watershed Map
Plate 2 - Subwatershed Map
Plate 3 - Topographic Map
Plate 4 - General Geology Map
Plate 5 - Detailed Geology Map
Plate 6 - General Soils Map
Plate 7 - Detailed Soils Map
Plate 8 - Land Use Map
Plate 9 - Floodplain Map
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 2 - Restoration & Management Plan
This is the second part of Clear Creek Consulting LLC President Rocky Powell's "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship Grants.
Executive Summary
Cover Page & Table of Contents
Restoration & Management Plan
References
Restoration Maps
Bachman Run
Beck Creek
Brandywine Creek
Killinger Creek, Gingrich Run & Buckholder Run
Lower Quittapahilla Creek Mainstem & Unnamed Tributary
Lower Snitz Creek
Upper Quittapahilla Creek Mainstem
Upper Quittapahilla Creek Subwatershed
Upper Snitz Creek
Restoration Projects
Bachman Run
Beck Creek
Brandywine Creek
Buckholder Run & Gingrich Run
Killinger Creek
Quittapahilla Creek
Snitz Creek
Unnamed Tributary
Upper Quittapahilla Creek
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Appendix
This is the third & final section of Clear Creek Consulting LLC Rocky Powell's "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship Grants. Those sections without hyperlinks consist of dozens of individual files (Excel & JPEG) that will be made available to authorized entities upon inquiry, as indicated below.
Cover & Table of Contents
Biological Assessment
Fish Table 1
Fish Table 2
Fish Table 3
Macro Table 1
Macro Table 2
Macro Table 3
Macro Table 4
Gage Calibration - 27 Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Habitat Evaluation -
Main Stem Photos - 233 JPEG files (available upon inquiry)
Stream Morphological Assessment - 500 JPEG & Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Subwatershed Photos - 138 JPEG files (available upon inquiry)
Water Quality Data - 37 Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Water Quality Monitoring
Summer 2004. Water Testing along Quittapahilla Creek, Beck Creek, Bachman Run & Snitz Creek.
Produced from data compiled and analyzed by Lebanon Valley College Biology major Stephen Newell for an independent research project undertaken from June to August 2004 under the supervision of the Biology Department, the two files below include data on water and air temperatures, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate concentrations at six sites in the watershed.
2004. Stephen Newell Narrative Report.
2004. Stephen Newell Tables & Data.
June 2003. Final Report for Upper Hammer Creek Fencing & Riparian Buffer Grant
In this project, Quittapahilla Watershed Association representatives met with the Susquehannock Flyfishers and reviewed their goals for the Upper Hammer Creek Watershed. As a result of our collaborative efforts, 9,916 feet of stream bank on six cattle farms in the Upper Hammer Creek Watershed were fenced and riparian buffers planted along the fencing. The project also resulted in successful streambank stabilization on one farm and significant BMP work on adjacent farms.
June 2003. Final Report for Little Swatara Creek Riparian Buffer/Stream Bank Fencing Grant
A grant to supplement this DEP Grant was one received from DCNR that provided the Quittapahilla Watershed Association the funds to install over 9,825 feet of stream bank fencing on the Little Swatara (Funk Farm, Herr Farm, T. Martin Farm). The DEP funds were used to put in the necessary cattle crossings and associated work on the Funk Farm, Herr Farm, T. Martin Farm, and the Earl Zeigler Farm.
April 2003. Preliminary Findings Report for Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant of 2001
This report was prepared by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC, representing part of the "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant (see below). It discusses the Project Study Components, Watershed Characterization, Subwatershed Analysis, Morphological Stream Assessment, Biological Stream Assessment, and Water Quality Monitoring.
January 2002. Geomorphic & Habitat Maps of the Quittapahilla Watershed
These beautifully rendered maps were produced by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC through a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
January 2002. Field Reconnaissance Maps
A second set of beautifully rendered maps of the Quittie watershed.
2000-2001. Creation of the Educational Wetlands at the Lebanon County Career & Technical Center (LCCTC)
The goal of this project was to create a viable educational wetlands on the grounds of the Lebanon County Career & Technical Center (LCCTC) in Lebanon to serve as a storm water basin, nutrient containment reservoir, and sediment trap during peak discharges, thereby alleviating the severity of flooding in surrounding areas. A related goal centered on public education & outreach through mulched footpaths and observation bridges, permitting public access to the area and raising public awareness of the critical importance of wetlands to surrounding communities & ecosystems. Students and local community organizations assisted in the planting of wetland species appropriate to this environment and the area monitored for natural succession as wetland species emerged.
June 2000. Watershed Restoration and Assistance Program 2nd Grant (WRAP-2)
The goal of this project was to continue streambank stabilization along Quittapahilla Creek, Snitz Creek, Killinger Creek, Beck Creek, and Bachman Run. Substantial segments of these streambanks were restored and stabilized through the installation of streambank fencing and replacing riparian buffers. The water quality was also monitored. This project was made possible thanks to the combined efforts of the QWA and many local community organizations.
December 1999. Watershed Restoration and Assistance Program 1st Grant (WRAP-1)
This project's goal was to install stream bank fencing and plant trees & shrubs in riparian buffers on cattle and dairy farms in the Quittapahilla Watershed, focusing on Quittapahilla Creek, Bachman Run, Beck Creek & Snitz Creek. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had identified these tributaries as impaired waters as a result of non-point source pollution from nutrients, sediment from surface runoff, and nutrients from groundwater pollution. For this project the QWA enlisted the help of individual volunteers (including employees of the PA-DEP) and a number of local community organizations.
February-April 1999. Report of Water Quality Testing under Dr. Paul Wolf
This PDF file (8 pp., 5 MB) carries the title, "Report of Water Quality Testing at 11 sites along the Quittapahilla Watershed, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Paul Wolf, Professor of Biology, Lebanon Valley College, between 24 February and 28 April, 1999". Its opening lines read: "The purpose of this study was to monitor nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphates, pH, and turbidity levels along Bachman Run, Snitz Creek, Beck Creek and Quittapahilla Creek." The study found some disturbing trends — like sharp spikes in orthophosphates in late April — but considered overall nitrogen levels to be in the "within acceptable ranges". One wonders how these data would have shifted in May, June, and July.
1998. Water Quality Data Collected in Quittapahilla Creek by TRC, Inc.
"Copies of field screening and water sampling results from Quittapahilla Creek" from Robert J. Golden, Jr., Manager, Environmental Permitting, TRC Environmental Corp., to David Lasky, May 6, 1998 (9 pp., PDF file). Offers a sound scientific appraisal of the Quittie's water quality at various points on December 17, 1997, the date of TRC's sampling. "The sample was analyzed for anions, cations, heavy metals, and wet chemistry parameters." Results included high nitrate & phosphorous concentrations and excessively high temperatures at the Lebanon Sewage Treatment Plant, but overall the numbers painted a pretty decent picture. "Field measurement results were consistent with previously reported data suggesting that water quality in Quittapahilla Creek is generally good." The Quittie is shown to be holding its own. This report also appears on the Archives page.
1997. Biological Assessment of the Susquehanna River Basin Study (excerpts)
This PDF file (13 pp., 7.5 MB) offers brief excerpts from a much larger study of October 1997 by Carrie L. Traver, "Water Quality and Biological Assessment of the Lower Susquehanna SubBasin," Publication 190, Water Quality & Monitorying Programs Division, Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Offering a rich trove of techical data on Quittapahilla and Swatara creeks in relation to the whole of the Lower Susquehanna watershed, the study shows the Quittie performing poorly relative to its watershed neighbors. Its waters are the coldest, it has far & away the most "Shredders" and the lowest number of "EPT Taxa" (the lowest biodiversity scores), and both the Quittie and Swattie are tied for last for having the lowest "Total Biological Score" of "10" (compared to a score of "30" for the North Branch of the Mahantango Creek, e.g.). The Quittapahilla watershed emerges as the most impaired of all the watersheds draining into the Lower Susquehanna River Basin.
1970s-2000. Water Quality Testing Data by U.S. Geological Survey
This Excel spreadsheet contains water quality data for Quittapahilla Creek and its tributaries dating back to 1934 (a single entry), with most of the data collected from the 1970s to the year 2000. Measurements included water and air temperatures, pH, turbidity, and nitrate & phosphate concentrations at numerous points along the watershed.
This page serves as an online archive & repository for studies & documents on grant-funded projects undertaken or contemplated by the Quittapahilla Watershed Association intended to improve the water quality in the watershed, and reports of interest relating to improving the watershed's water quality. It also includes studies that offer comparative data on our watershed in relation to our neighbors in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin.
This digital file cabinet brims with information on the many impairments of the Quittapahilla watershed, and on the QWA's past successes & ongoing work.
The material is organized in reverse chronological order (the most recent stuff is at the top).
February 2024. Quittapahilla Creek Restoration Project Downstream of Spruce St. Bridge, Annville Township
Major work on this restoration project was completed by February 1, 2024. By way of background, in December 2022 the PA Fish & Boat Commission notified Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (DFTU) that it has provisionally approved funding for this proposed project, pending a satisfactory project field review. The proposal was submitted in October 2022 by DFTU to the F&B Commission in its targeted grant program, "Tulpehocken and Quittapahilla Watershed Enhancement Program." As detailed in the Grant Application linked below, the project is intended to restore 834 linear feet of Quittapahilla Creek immediately downstream of the Spruce Street bridge in Annville Township. Project activities have occured on the privately owned property on the south bank and on the publicly owned property belonging to Annville Township on the north bank, part of Quittie Creek Nature Park. As noted in the grant application, this reach of stream comprises the upper section of one of the PA Fish & Boat Commission's Keystone Select Stocked Trout Streams. It is within a delayed harvest area and is very popular with anglers. Included below along with the grant application and other documents are three short videos taken in January 2024 documenting the work.
• Dec. 23, 2022. Letter from Fish & Boat Commission to DFTU announcing provisional approval of the proposal
• Grant Application
• Map of Project Location and Concept Plan
• Photographs of Existing Conditions
• Letters of Support
• Budget Spreadsheet
• Video 1 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/l05cdypTow4
• Video 2 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/SyI6V827iug
• Video 3 (Jan. 2024): https://youtu.be/5yYwRRDmYgw
October 2023. Summer 2023 Intern Stream Reconnaissance Surveys: Summary of Existing Conditions and Recommendations on Gingrich Run, Killinger Creek, and Snitz Creek
This 61-page final report, also linked below (PDF file, 20 MB) offers a synopsis of the work underaken and data collected from July to August 2023 by Hannah Horengic and Ilyssa McLaughlin, two Environmental Science majors at Lebanon Valley College, along with recommendations for remediating the most severely impacted stream reaches. As noted in the report's Introduction, "The 2023 summer’s interns initially focused on the Gingrich Run and Killinger Creek subwatersheds, but the effort was expanded to include Snitz Creek subwatershed. Funding for the 2023 Intern Program was provided by the Lebanon County Conservation District (LCCD) with grant administration provided by The Lebanon Valley Conservancy." The final report was repared by Rocky Powell, Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association, Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited, The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, and the Lebanon County Conservation District. Accompanying the final report are several related items, as described below:
• Final Report: Summer Intern Stream Reconnaissance Surveys 2023. Summary of Existing Conditions and Recommendations (61 pgs., 20 MB)
• Map showing the locations of all 66 reaches assessed
• Photographs. A collection of some 2,289 photographs documenting in detail the findings in the final report, housed and viewable in this GoogleDrive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gdm9cydCi8WjCa-N7X-jT8Kk_C1MAv97?usp=sharing
• Presentation by interns at Oct. 17, 2023 QWA meeting (PDF file, 4 MB)
• Video recording of the interns' Oct. 17, 2023 Zoom presentation, housed on YouTube, at https://youtu.be/J64l3nzFAwM
• Press release by The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, 27 Oct. 2023, describing the interns' work (PDF file,
• News story: "Quittapahilla Watershed interns present findings on health of local waterways," LebTown Staff, Nov. 2, 2023, https://lebtown.com/2023/11/02/quittapahilla-watershed-interns-present-findings-on-health-of-local-waterways/ -- and in case that URL changes, a PDF file of the same news story (4 pgs., <1 MB).
• Blog entry of Mon. Oct. 30, 2023, in the PA Environment Digest by David E. Hess, "Quittapahilla Watershed Assn. Interns Present Stream Morphology Surveys On Lebanon County Streams," http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2023/10/quittapahilla-watershed-assn-interns.html
• Flier announcing the 2023 Summer Internship Program (released Jan. 2023)
August 2023. Water Quality Sampling Results
On August 14 and 15, 2023, volunteers with the QWA's Monitoring Program under the leadership of Kent Crawford collected water samples at our six monitoring sites and took them to the PA-DEP's laboratory in Harrisburg, where they were tested for a wide range of elements and compounds. The results of five of those tests appear below; the sixth is forthcoming. As expected, the test results show high concentrations of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus. Happily, the samples show low concentrations of heavy metals. Links are to small PDF files (>1MB).
BK1: Beck Creek at Bricker Lane
BM1: Bachman Run at Louser Road
K1: Killinger Creek at Killinger Road
Q1: Quittapahilla Creek at Garfield St.
Q2: Quittapahilla Creek at Palmyra-Bellegrove Road
June 2023. Beck Creek Project No. 6 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project
This collection of documents, presented here in reverse chronological order, provide a detailed accounting of the still-ongoing Beck Creek Project No. 6 in West Cornwall Township (downstream of where Beck Creek crosses Rt. 322) from Sept. 2019 to the present. We will keep adding material to this collection (and keep changing the date above under which this project is listed here on this page) until the project is completed. The most recent item is a proposal to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program, submitted in June 2023. For more on the toxic plume of legacy pollution that threatens Beck Creek in the area around Project 6, see the item further down on this page, housed under the date of August 2020.
• June 16, 2023. Growing Greener Plus Grant Application to PA-DEP (PDF file, 18 pgs., <1 MB)
• May 29, 2021. Project Summary, CCC to TLVC (PDF file, 1 pg)
• May 29, 2021, Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project Water Quality Improvement Projects Grant: Water Quality Projects along the Mariner East 2 Pipeline Project, Final Report: Technical Report Section (PDF file, 8 pgs.)
• April 15, 2021, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 1st Quarter of 2021, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 8 pgs., 3 MB)
• Dec. 15, 2020, Design of Beck Creek Stream Restoration by Clear Creeks Consulting (PDF file, 51 pgs., 35 MB)
• Oct. 15, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2020, TLVC toDEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• July 12, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 2nd Quarter of 2020, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• April 12, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 1st Quarter of 2020, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 4 pgs.)
• Jan. 13, 2020, Project Progress Quarterly Report for the 4th Quarter of 2019, TLVC to DEP (PDF file, 5 pgs.)
• Sept. 30, 2019. Status Report on Beck 6, Rocky Powell to Ned Gibble, TLVC (PDF file, 1 pg.)
February 2023. Snitz Creek Project No. 2 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project
This collection of documents, presented here in reverse chronological order, provide a detailed accounting of the still-ongoing Snitz Creek Project 2 in Cornwall Borough, from the field surveys that began in summer 2016 and continuing up to the present. In February 2023, PA-DEP issued a "notice of grant closeout," which means that the design & permitting phase has been completed. What awaits now is the actual construction, which we hope will commence next year, after we secure another round of Growing Greener funding. We will keep adding material to this collection (and keep changing the date above under which this project is listed here on this page) until the project is completed. (Note: TLVC stands for The Lebanon Valley Conservancy; CCC stands for Clear Creeks Consulting.)
• Feb. 7, 2023. PA-DEP to TLVC, Notice of Grant Closeout (PDF file, 2 pp.)
• Dec. 22, 2022. PA-DEP to Cornwall Boro Re: Enviromental Assessment of Snitz 2 Project (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• Dec. 20, 2022. PA-DEP, Growning Greener Goals & Accomplishments Form (PDF file, 18 pp.)
• Dec. 20, 2022. Grant Final Report / Project Closeout & Final Application for Reimbursement (PDF file, 22 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2022. Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 7 pp.)
• July 15, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 6 pp.)
• July 15, 2022. Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 8 pp.)
• April 18, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• April 18, 2022. Submission of App. for Reimbursement on Snitz 2 for 1st Qtr. 2022, TLVC (PDF file, 9 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2022. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Jan. 11, 2022. News clip from Lebanon Daily News on MS4 land sale to Cornwall Boro (JPEG, 1 p.)
• Dec. 8, 2021, "He wanted to help Snitz Creek. Instead, he watched Sunoco pollute it," StateImpact PA (PDF 9 pp.)
• Oct. 16, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• July 18, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• May 3, 2021. Time Extension Request Form on Snitz 2, TLVC to PA-DEP (PDF file, 1 p.)
• April 15, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2021, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Feb. 17, 2021. Restart Report on Sunoco Pipeline LP Mariner East PA Pipeline Project (PDF file, 93 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2021. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 4 pp.)
• Oct. 15, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 3rd Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 5 pp.)
• Aug. 14, 2020. Snitz Creek Project Schedule, CCC for TLVC (PDF file, 1 p.)
• July 12, 2020. Submission of Application for Reimbursement on Snitz 2, 4/1/20--6/30/20, TLVC (PDF file, 8 pp.)
• July 12, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 2nd Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• April 12, 2020. Submission of App. for Reimbursement on Snitz 2, 6/26/19--3/31/20, TLVC (PDF file, 11 pp.)
• April 12, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 1st Quarter 2020, TLVC (PDF file, 3 pp.)
• Jan. 14, 2020. Quarterly Work Progress Report on Snitz 2 for 4th Quarter 2019, TLVC (PDF file, 5 pp.)
• Nov. 4, 2019. PowerPoint: Snitz 2 Stream & Floodplain Restoration Project, CCC for Cornwall Boro (PDF file, 15 pp.)
• Aug. 28, 2019. Krall Property Meeting Document, prepared by CCC (PDF, 20 pp.
• May 10, 2019. Snitz 2 Contract between CCC and TLVC (PDF, 8 pp.)
• Oct. 24, 2018. Award letter for Snitz 2 from PA-DEP to TLVC in the amount of $159,094.
• July 2018. Snitz 2 Stream Restoration Project Growing Greener Grant App., CCC for the QWA (PDF file, 37 pp.)
• May 23, 2017. Snitz Creek Restoration Project Photographic Survey & Data Collection Report from 2016 fieldwork by Intern Sam Soliday and Rocky Powell, CCC President (PDF file, 152 pp.)
January 2023. Snitz Creek Project No. 4: Proposed Stream Restoration & Stormwater Retrofit, Cornwall Borough
Good news! In January 2023, PA-DEP announced that this project proposal was awarded $196,028 in the 2022 round of Growing Greener funding -- the only project in Lebanon County to be awarded funding in this round (see the PA-DEP website at https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/GrantsLoansRebates/Growing-Greener/Pages/default.aspx). The proposal, submitted to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program in June 2022, proposed the restoration of 1,845 linear feet of Snitz Creek and an existing dry detention pond serving Cornwall Hills Subdivision in Cornwall Borough, retrofitted to provide water quality management of runoff from the subdivision that discharges into the project reaches. The proposal was prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting in collaboration with Rich Starr of Ecosystem Planning & Restoration and submitted by QWA President Michael Schroeder on behalf of the QWA and Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited. Congratulations, DFTU!
1. Detailed Description of Snitz Creek Project No. 4 (15 MB)
2. Growing Greener Plus Final Application, June 2022
3. Location Map
4. Site Map
5. Aerial image showing project limits
6. Concept Plan for Reach 1
7. Concept Plan for Reach 2
8. Concept Plan for Reach 3
9. Concept Plan for Reach 4
10. Concept Plan for Stormwater Management Pond
Below are the files from our first failed effort to secure funding for this project from PA-DEP's Growing Greener program in Dec. 2019:
1. Detailed Description of Snitz Creek Project No. 4 (42 MB)
2. Growing Greener Final Application, Dec. 2019 (2.3 MB)
3. Location Map
4. Site Map
5. Letters of Commitment from Project Partners for Matching Component
June 2022. Snitz Creek 18 and Upper 19 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project
This proposal, prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, is intended to restore approximately 2,208 linear feet of Snitz Creek as a stable E4/C4 stream channel; repair a failing low head dam to maintain the water supply to adjacent farm pond and maintain the hydrology for the 15.82 acre permanently flooded wetland system along the adjacent and upstream floodplains; excavate a small baseflow channel along the right floodplain to provide fish passage around the dam and into upper stream reaches; plug and/or modify existing drainage ditches to restore full hydrologic conditions to the existing 4.26 acre emergent wetlands along the right floodplain.
Unfortunately the proposal was not submitted to the last round of Growing Greener Plus, deadline June 24, 2022, because the property management company that mangages the Lowe's property on Quentin Road refused to sign onto the project. This issue sparked a public controversy that was the subject of local media attention in September 2022, as seen in the last two items linked below. We hope that the property owners and property management company will change their minds so that a viable proposal will be submitted in the next round of Growing Greener funding, so that this much-needed stream restoration work can take place.
• Snitz Creek 18 and Upper 19 Online Project Application Information (17 June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Aerial Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Location Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Site Map (June 2022)
• Snitz 18-19 Leb. Co. Planning Dept. Land Use Consistency Letter
• Snitz 18-19 Existing Conditions Photographs
• "I find this morally reprehensible: Snitz Creek restoration at a standstill," Daniel Larlham,
Lebanon Daily News, Mon. Sept. 12, 2022. PDF file of the online version of the same article
(carrying a different headline).
• "Viewpoint: Saving the Chesapake One Waterway at a Time," Michael Schroeder, QWA President,
Lebanon Daily News, Wed. Sept. 14, 2022. PDF file of same op-ed.
May 2022. Spruce St. Bridge Area Stream Reconstruction & Fishing Access Project on the Quittapahilla Mainstem, Annville Township
This proposal from ARM Group, LLC to Russ Collins of Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (PDF file, 5 MB) represents the design & permitting phase (phase 1), including a description of the scope of work, an estimated budget, and a site map for a creek enhancement & fishing access improvement project in Annville Township, upstream and downstream of the Spruce St. Bridge, at an estimated cost of nearly $46,000. The proposal was not submitted in time for Annville Township to review and approve it before the June 24 deadline for the 2022 round of Growing Greener Plus funding from PA-DEP. A revised version of this proposal was submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission in October 2022 in a targeted grant program, housed above under October 2022.
December 2021. Bachman Run Stream Restoration Project (Bachman & Horst Properties), South Annville Township
The reaches along this part of Bachman Run, just south of Rt. 322 in South Annville Township, were historically straightened. Geomorphic assessment conducted in summer 2019 indicated laterally unstable stream reaches due to meander redevelopment along some sections, livestock trampling throughout, and maintenance of riparian vegetation. Streambanks are mowed pasture grasses to top of bank with a narrow unmowed strip to edge of water. This area totally lacks trees or shrubs that would stabilize the banks and shade the channel. Stability problems include high width to depth ratio, bank erosion, heavy sedimentation, and aggradation (lateral and mid-channel bars). The Bachman Run – Bachman and Horst Properties Stream Restoration Project will restore 2,781 linear feet of in-stream and riparian habitat along the mainstem Bachman Run. The project will also convert heavily impacted pasture into half an acre of emergent wetlands in the adjacent floodplain. Stream restoration will utilize a natural channel design approach that includes sediment removal along areas with heavy sedimentation; adjustments to unstable meander geometry; regrading steep banks; installing toe wood, log and boulder structures to stabilize streambanks and create in-stream habitat; adjusting the location of livestock fencing to increase undisturbed riparian buffer width; upgrading and stabilizing existing livestock crossings; invasive plant removal; and establishing a 35 foot riparian buffer with plantings of native trees and shrubs. The proposal for $161,081 was prepared by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and submitted to PA-DEP by Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited in March 2021, with approval received in Dec. 2021.
• December 3, 2021. Letter from PA-DEP to Russ Collins, DFTU announcing EPA 319 funding (PDF file, 2 pp.).
• March 15, 2021. Proposal from Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited to PA-DEP for Bachman Run Stream Restoration Project (21 pg. PDF file).
• October 2019. Proposal from Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited to PA Fish & Boat Commission for the same project (21 pp. PDF file, 15.2 MB). The Fish & Boat Commission did not fund the proposal.
November 2021. Killinger Creek Restoration Project (Huber/Burkholder Properties), South Annville Township
This project will restore some 1,400 linear feet of Killinger Creek in South Annville Township on the Huber and Burkholder properties, and include an associated riparian buffer and restored wetland. A grant of $130,000 for the design and permitting phase of this project was secured from the Conservation Fund via the Delaware Riverkeeper Network from a fine paid by Transco Pipeline Company, LLC, for numerous violations of environmental laws during pipeline construction in Pennsylvania. The recipient and administrator of the grant is the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the contractor and project manager for the project is Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC. It should be noted that this project is a substantially revised version of the proposal submitted by Bill Wall of Steckbeck Engineering in June 2018 for Sunoco Penalty Grant funding (see below), which was not funded. The $130,000 grant will fund the design and permitting, not the actual construction, funds for which will have to come from another grant.
• Nov. 6, 2021. Contract agreement between Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited and Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC (PDF file, 4 pgs.).
• August—October 2021. This 33 page PDF file (4 MB) contains the following documents: (1) Award Agreement from the Transco/Delaware Riverkeeper Network Environmental Restoration Fund between The Conservation Fund and Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited, Oct. 5, 2021. (2) Exhibit A. Project Proposal and Budget. Includes Aug. 12, 2021 contract agreement between Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited and Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and Design and Permitting Scope of Work and Budget. (3) Exhibit B. Copies of Adjoining Landowner Executed and Notarized Right of Entry Agreements, Oct. 5, 2021.
September 2021. Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium's Quittapahilla Creek Floodplain Restoration Design Update
This 15-page report (PDF file, 6 MB) by LandStudies commissioned by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium offers a very welcome update on the planned streambank reconstruction to take place along some 1,800 feet of the Quittapahilla mainstem from the end of the Hazel Dike to the 22nd Street Bridge. The project will be funded by the MS4-mandated stormwater management fees imposed on property owners within the six municipalities comprising the Consortium: the City of Lebanon, the Cleona Borough Authority, and the townships of Annville, North Cornwall, North Lebanon, and South Lebanon. For the minutes of the Stormwater Consortium, see the website of the Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities > Document Library.
April 2021. PennFuture Report: "Underfunded and Polluted: Solutions to Fund Clean Water in Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed"
This hard-hitting, fact-based 44-page report (PDF file, 3 MB) assesses "Pennsylvania’s role in Chesapeake Bay restoration" and concludes that "Now is the time to act. To date, Pennsylvania has significantly lagged in meeting milestones established in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) by 2025—the Bay’s so-called “pollution diet” set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). . . . This report describes the pollution problems Pennsylvania faces in the Susquehanna and Potomac River basins and explores the history of restoration efforts. Looking forward, the report puts forth a legislative agenda that achieves the $521 million funding need as well as meets the Commonwealth’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL goals. The policy recommendations made in this report fall under six categories" that appear in the report, also accessible online at https://www.pennfuture.org/Files/Admin/Final-Chesapeake-report.pdf.
February 2021. Snitz Creek Mariner East Pipeline Drilling Spills Yield $500K Fine and a New Drilling Plan: Restart Report of RETTEW to Energy Transfer Partners (Sunoco) re: N. Zinn’s Mill Rd. Horizontal Directional Drillling (HDD) in West Cornwall Twp, Lebanon Co. PA
This detailed, richly illustrated, so-called "Restart Report" paid for by Energy Transfer Partners / Sunoco (PDF file, 9 MB) presents "site details and an evaluation of the inadvertent return (IR) that occurred during efforts to advance the 26-inch diameter reamer from the east end of Sunoco Pipeline LP’s (SPLP) S3-0101-16, North Zinn’s Mill Road horizontal directional drill (HDD) on October 19, 2020 in West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. This report includes an updated timeline of site activity that has occurred since the PA-DEP-approved the restart of drilling on September 23, 2020." Also included are JPEG files of a story published in the Lebanon Daily News on March 10, 2021 summarizing why ETP/Sunoco was fined early $500,000 for its environmental violations. Page 1. Page 2.
February 2021. York Daily Record Series of articles on "Killing the Chesapeake Bay"
We are posting this important series here in hopes that the York Daily Record does not object, because our only interest is educational and helping to spread the word about this excellent series of articles representing the best of investigative journalism. We hope to work with the York Daily Record to publicize this outstanding series on how human activities are "killing the Chesapeake Bay." We gratefully acknowlege & credit the work of the following individuals. REPORTING: Mike Argento (York, Pa.), Julia Rentsch (Salisbury, Md.), Frank Bodani (York, Pa.), Jeff Platsky (Binghamton, N.Y.). PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY: Paul Kuehnel (York, Pa.), Kaisha Young (Salisbury, Md.), Kate Collins (Binghamton, N.Y.), John Buffone (York, Pa.) EDITORS: Scott Fisher, Randy Parker, Kevin Hogan, Laura Benedict Sileo, Tammy Paolino. DIGITAL PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Spencer Holladay. SOCIAL MEDIA, ENGAGEMENT AND PROMOTION: Jackee Coe, Sarah Robinson, Anthony Dimattia, Elyse Toribio, Michelle Ganassi, Erik Gliedman, Robbie Gutierrez. URL: https://www.ydr.com/in-depth/news/2021/02/02/pennsylvania-polluted-susquehanna-river-poisoning-chesapeake-bay-what-can-done/3766011001/ All links are to PDF files averaging 3-4 MB, up to a maximum of 8 MB.
1. PA's polluted Susquehanna River is poisoning the bay. What can be done
2. Why Pennsylvania is failing Chesapeake Bay — and how it affects you
3. The Susquehanna River: A family's mission to promote, protect it
4. From Otsego Lake, Susquehanna goes south — figuratively, literally
5. Old mill dams, farming cause of pollution in Susquehanna, Chesapeake
6. Chesapeake pollution: Conowingo dam's toxic muck vexing problem for bay
7. Sewage near Pa. capitol deluge Susquehanna River with E. coli
8. 5 things government can do to save the Chesapeake and Susquehanna
9. How you can help save Chesapeake Bay and restore the Susquehanna River
10. 3 iconic Susquehanna River aquatic species struggle to survive
11. The Eastern Hellbender is 'canary in the coal mine' in the Susquehanna
12. Dead creek runs orange with acid mine discharge, poisoning Susquehanna
13. Susquehanna River: Paddling all 444 miles transports into another world
14. Flathead catfish: Fishing for monsters in the Susquehanna River
15. A pollution diet for the Chesapeake Bay: Total Maximum Daily Load
January 2021. WIP-2021: Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan, Final Revised & Updated Version of 27 Jan. 2021 (updated from Aug. 2018 WIP)
Years in the making, this 234-page document (PDF file, 47 MB) will serve as our roadmap for our work in the watershed for the coming decade at least. It offers a slightly updated and final version of the WIP-2018, housed below. The updates include the revised Tables 26, 27 and 28 with Target TMDLs for subwatersheds and mainstem, and a revised Volunteer Monitoring Program. Prepared for Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, 1317 Knopp Rd, Jarrettsville MD, 21084, and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant.
August 2020. Investigation of Toxic Legacy Plume on Beck Creek: Draft Remedial Investigation Report (RIR) of Quentin Terminal / Cornwall Pump Station off Butler Rd. & Rt. 322, West Cornwall Township
In the more than six decades from 1931 to 1994, a pump station called Quentin Terminal, also called the Cornwall Pump Station, made up of several large storage and distribution tanks for gasoline and other petroleum products, was operating on the southeast corner of Rt. 322 and Butler Road on a rise overlooking the valley through which Beck Creek flows just to the east. During those 60-plus years, substantial quantities of this gasoline and other petrochemicals were spilled and leaked into the ground. The first five PDF files listed below comprise the draft Remedial Investigation Report prepared by Aquaterra Technologies, Inc. on behalf of Pipeline Operations of Evergreen Resources Management Group, in turn contracted by Sunoco, Inc., the owner of the site and of the Mariner East pipeline corridor, which passes right through this toxic legacy site. The report offers a fascinating and chillingly detailed study of the toxic legacy petrochemical contamination in this area. As these data show, the toxic plume is still spreading to the north and east here in the rock formations in the Beck Creek watershed. The sixth and seventh items are comment letters on the draft RIR dated 13 Nov. 2020, the first by Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc., and the second by the West Cornwall Twp Public Involvement Committee. Both offer substantive criticism of the draft RIR and urge further investigation and remediation measures.
1. Cover letter from Evergreen to West Cornwall Twp. Supervisors, 31 Aug. 2020 (<1 MB)
2. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, Cornwall Pump Station, 31 Aug. 2020 (72 pages, 17.7 MB)
3. Appendix A. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (2,137 pages, 258 MB)
4. Figures and Maps. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (30 pages, 15.4 MB)
5. Tables. Draft Remedial Investigation Report, 31 Aug. 2020 (21 pages, <1 MB)
6. Comment Letter of Penn Environmental & Remediation, Inc. on Draft RIR, 13 Nov. 2020 (2 MB)
7. Comment Letter of W. Cornwall Twp Public Involvement Cmte to Evergreen on Draft RIR, 13 Nov. 2020 (<1 MB)
October 2019. Final Report, Summer 2019 Internship on Bachman Run
The final report is forthcoming soon. Meantime we include the following documents, which provide forms, templates, and guidelines to the summer interns undertaking the work:.
1. BANCS Field Form ("Bank and Nonpoint Source Consequences of Sediment")
2. Bank Erosion Potential Rating Guide
3. Pebble Count Data Form
4. David L. Rosgen, "A Practical Method of Computing Streambank Erosion Rate"
5. Riffle Embeddedness Field Guide
6. Stream Invertebrates Field Guide (NWCC Technical Note 99-1, Stream Visual Assessment Protocol, Dec. 1998).
7. Stream Visual Assessment Field Data Summary form
8. Stream Visual Assessment Field Form
9. Summer Intern Stream Assessment Guidelines (prepared by Rocky Powell)
August 2019. Snitz Creek Project No. 3 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project, Cornwall Borough
The Snitz Creek 3 Stream and Floodplain Restoration Project will restore 1,000 linear feet of in-stream and riparian habitat along the mainstem Snitz Creek, converting 150 linear feet of a tributary into 1,000 linear feet of stream channel that meanders across the restored floodplain. The floodplain restoration will create 1.2 – 1.5 acres of emergent and scrub-shrub wetlands that will provide water quality treatment for runoff from more than 388 acres of cultivated fields. The proposal was submitted for EPA 319 funding in August 2019 by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, with Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited as the applicant. The proposal requests $167,541, with local match of $28,500, for a total cost of $196.041.
Snitz Creek Project 3: Completed Online Application Form
Snitz Creek Project 3: Supporting Documentation (PDF file, 15 MB)
Snitz Creek Project 3: Location Map
Snitz Creek Project 3: Site Map
July 2019. Concept Maps for Snitz Creek Project No. 4
These six concept maps for Snitz Creek Project No. 4 sketch out Rocky Powell's vision of how best to restore this section of the stream. They are placed here so that landowners in the project area have easy access to them. The project area is located on the East Fork of Snitz Creek, from Cornwall Road to the confluence with the Snitz Creek mainstem. Length: 2,790 feet. Total estimated cost: $927,715 (see page 173 of the August 2018 WIP, accessible below).
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 1
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 2
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 3
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 4
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 5
Snitz Creek Project 4 - Reach 6
December 2018. Beck Creek Erosion Survey by Summer 2018 Interns Brittany Weaver & Kyla O'Connor
This report assessing Beck Creek (PDF file, 303 pages, 72 MB) was produced by the QWA's summer 2018 interns, Lebanon Valley College students Brittany Weaver and Kyla O'Connor. The report divides the Beck Creek watershed into 19 sections and assesses 10 of them (nine sections were not assessed due to insufficient time, the instructions of Rocky Powell, or a lack of landowner permission to enter the property). For the 10 assessed sections, the report includes data on pebble counts, flow regime, bed form, riparian vegetation, sediment supply, meander pattern, streambed vertical stability, depositional pattern, channel blockages, channel alterations, and erosion dynamics, including bank height, bankful, root depth, root density, bank angle, surface protection, bank material, and near bank stress (NBS). Also notable is its concluding section, "Fun on Beck Creek & Wildlife!!" The work was made possible thanks to generous grants from Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited and North Cornwall Township, whom we thank for their support.
August 2018. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP 2018)
This PDF file (48 MB, 234 pgs.) of the August 2018 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP 2018) represents the deliverables for PA-DEP's April 2016 Growing Greener grant of $26,500 (see below). Prepared for the Watershed Association by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, the WIP 2018 is based on nearly 20 years of research & study and offers a detailed roadmap for the next 20 years for projects to improve the water quality in the watershed. The plan covers the entire watershed but focuses mainly on sections of waterways outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium (City of Lebanon, North Lebanon Twp, South Lebanon Twp, North Cornwall Twp, Cleona Borough Authority, and Annville Twp) and two MS4-mandated municipalities outside the Consortium (South Annville Twp and Cornwall Borough). Tributaries flowing into the mainstem of special interest are Snitz Creek, Beck Creek, Bachman Run, Killinger Creek, and Gingrich Run. The WIP also specifies the QWA's pre- and post-construction monitoring obligatigations in the watershed, the results of which will be housed on this page when the time comes. Meantime we post here a PDF file of Rocky Powell's PowerPoint presentation (24 MB) publicly unveiling the WIP at the Annville Town Hall on Sept. 26, 2018.
July 2018. Growing Greener Grant Proposals
These two grant proposals were developed by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and submitted to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus program in July 2018 by the Watershed Association in partnership with The Lebanon Valley Conservancy -- essentially the same proposals as Beck Creek Project B6 and Snitz Creek Project S2, below, submitted to PA-DEP in June 2018 for Sunoco Penalty Grant funding. For privacy reasons, the signed Landowner Letters of Commitment have been removed from the proposals.
Beck Creek No. 6 Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map
Snitz Creek No. 2 Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map
June 2018. Sunoco Penalty Grant Proposals (with award decisions of October 2018)
The spring 2018 Sunoco Penalty Grant opportunity (closed on June 20, 2018) yielded nine proposals for the Quittapahilla watershed submitted by five non-profit entities — three by the QWA in partnership with The Lebanon Valley Conservancy (TLVC), with the crucial help of Doc Fritchey Trout Unlimited (DFTU) — one by South Annville Township — one by Cornwall Borough — and four by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium.
This map shows the locations of all nine of these project proposals. (It also shows a tenth project currently being undertaken by DFTU, with funding from the PA Fish & Boat Commission, on Lower Snitz Creek -- Snitz Project S24.) The nine proposals, submitted on 20 June 2018, are summarized & linked below. Also included are PA-DEP's award decisions, announced on October 24.
1. Killinger Creek Project K5. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding for the design, permit, and construction of a 1400-foot stream stabilization and restoration with an associated riparian buffer and a restored wetland on Killinger Creek in South Annville Township. Projected cost: $129,535. Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was not funded.
2. Beck Creek Project B6. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding to restore 2,000 linear feet of Beck Creek from the Route 322 bridge to the meander near Spangler Road in West Cornwall Township. Projected Cost: $874,822. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was funded in the amount of $150,774 (see the award letter) -- 17% of the amount requested.
3. Snitz Creek Project S2. Proposed by the QWA/TLVC. Seeks funding to restore 2,300 linear feet of Snitz Creek from the culvert outfall downstream of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail to the culvert upstream of Culvert Road in Cornwall Borough. Projected Cost: $862,666. Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. On October 24 we learned that this proposal was funded in the amount of $159,094 (see the award letter) -- 18% of the amount requested.
4. Bachman Run Project B15. Proposed by South Annville Township. Seeks funding to stablilize approximately 310 linear feet of Bachman Run between Louser Road and Reigerts Lane, plant a riparian buffer of native vegetation, and manage stormwater discharge from two regulated outfalls. Projected Cost: $112,000. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October 2018, South Annville Township was informed by PA-DEP that it was awarded $92,000 of the $112,00 requested.
5. Snitz Creek Project Upstream of S1. Proposed by Cornwall Borough. Seeks funding for four stormwater management basins, a vegetated swale, and a riparian buffer on several properties along the upper reaches of Snitz Creek owned by Cornwall Borugh in the Goosetown neighborhood (between Anthracite Road and Rexmont Road, upstream of the project designated as Project S1). Projected Cost: $166,400. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, Cornwall Borough was informed that it was awarded the entire amount requested: $166,400.
6. Unnamed Tributary / Clover Drive Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a retrofit of an existing detention basin located on Clover Drive (next to the intersection of Barberry Lane) in South Lebanon Township. Projected Cost: $66,900. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was awarded the entire amount requested: $66,900.
7. Upper Quittapahilla Mainstem / Hickory Blvd. Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a retrofit of an existing stormwater detention basis located on Hickory Blvd. in the upper reaches of the Upper Quittapahilla mainstem in South Lebanon Township. Projected Cost: $81,600. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was awarded the entire amount requested: $81,600.
8. Upper Quittapahilla Mainstem Project UQ2 & UQ3. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for a wetlands basin at the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center that will capture & retain stormwater and allow for the infiltration of stormwater and recharge of the groundwater aquifer. Projected cost: $430,500. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was not funded.
9. South Hills Park Rain Gardens Project. Proposed by the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium. Seeks funding for five rain gardens (bioretention basins) at South Hills Park at the headwaters of an unnamed tributary of Quittapahilla Creek in South Lebanon Township. Projected cost: $140,700. • Detailed Project Description • Location Map • Site Map. In late October, the Consortium was informed that this project was not funded.
Total amount requested for these nine projects (June 2018): $2,866,152.
Total amount awarded for six of the nine projects (Oct. 2018): $716,768.
April 2018. Sunoco Penalty Grant Information | Map of Consortium Areas & Eligible Municipalities | Prioritized Projects in Maps & Tables
The following documents were targeted to stakeholders involved in the Sunoco Penalty Grant-writing process. The submission period opened on May 7 and closed on June 20, 2018, yielding the nine proposals listed above.
1. Sunoco Penalty Grant Information Sheet
2. Map of Watershed Showing Consortium MS4 Areas and Sunoco Penalty Grant Eligible Municipalities
3. Maps of Restoration Projects in the Five Eligible Municipalities (east to west)
• South Lebanon Township
• Cornwall Borough
• West Cornwall Township
• South Annville Township
• South Londonderry Township
4. Prioritized Stream Projects, by Subwatershed (color-coded table)
5. Final Sunoco Grant Penalty Projects, by Municipality (table)
6. Projects Recommended for SESI, and Projects Recommended for QWA / CCC / AARC (rev. 18.05.18)
7. Leb. Daily News story on Cornwall Borough & Sunoco Penalty Grant, 19 May 2018
8. PA-DEP Grant Application (in Word).
The Watershed Association gratefully acknowledges the work of Rocky Powell in developing items 3-6. Items 1 and 2 produced by Michael Schroeder. Item 7 is included because it conveys commonly held but inaccurate understandings about the nature & scope of this grant opportunity, and PA-DEP grants generally, as expressed in a Cornwall Borough Council meeting -- assertions later retracted by Jeff Steckbeck and rectified by Cornwall Borough Council (in fact, Sunoco Penalty Grant-funded projects could and can be included in MS4 calculations; there was no risk of a DEP fine; and there is no "catch" to these grants).
October 2017. Joint Pollutant Reduction Plan for the Lebanon County Stormwater Consortium
This 732 page pollutant reduction plan (PDF file, at a massive 354 MB) represents the combined efforts of the six Lebanon County Municipalities comprising "the Consortium": Annville Township, the City of Lebanon, Cleona Borough Authority, North Cornwall Township, North Lebanon Township, and South Lebanon Township. Heavily laden with maps and data, the plan is based primarily on Rocky Powell's 2006 study (see below). It offers a highly detailed inventory of these municipalities' current stormwater management infrastructure, and a general roadmap for future initiatives relating to stormwater management and for improving the water quality in the watershed, in compliance with the federal EPA's Clean Water Act mandates. A draft of the report is housed on the website of the Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, at http://www.lebanoncountyredevelopment.com/ For our purposes, Section E (pp. 609-620) is perhaps the most relevant. Everything up to this point is basically a spatial, map-based inventory of currently existing stormwater management infrastructure and quantifications of stormwater loads. Section E is titled "Select BMPs to Achieve the Minimum Required Reductions in Pollutant Loading". Section E is taken mainly from Rocky Powell's 2006 study (see below). Page 609 thus marks the beginning of the report's discussion of the plan moving forward. We have pulled this section out of the report and created a separate 12-page PDF file comprised of Section E.
May-June 2017. Snitz Creek Restoration Project: Photographic Survey & Data Collection
This 152-page report (PDF file, 70 MB) was produced by QWA intern Samuel Soliday (student in Geo Environmental Studies at Shippensburg University) in collaboration with Rocky Powell (President, Clear Creeks Consulting). The report offers a detailed survey of the Snitz Creek watershed for the in-progress Watershed Implementation Plan. The QWA offers its sincere & hearty thanks to Sam for his excellent work.
March 2017. Rocky Powell's PowerPoint Presentation on the In-Progress Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP)
This 108-slide presentation, accessible here in a PDF file (46 MB), based mainly on Rocky's 2006 study (accessible below) offers a detailed summary of the many impairments of the Quittapahilla watershed and a plan of action for moving forward, with the formation of five working groups that will shape the final WIP, which is expected to be completed in spring 2018. This document is also accessible on the "Projects & Grants" page of this website.
January 2017. Proposal to PA-DEP's Growing Greener Plus Grant Program for Cleona Stream Restoration Project
This 5-page proposal, prepared by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLP, is for the design phase of the Cleona Quittie Creek Restoration Project. In the words of the proposal, "we intend to utilize the funding provided under this grant to complete the assessment, design plans and permitting for the entire project area. Future grants will be utilized to complete construction by reach in two separate phases. The first phase of construction is planned for 2019."
January 2017. Contract Between Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy for Development of a Final Watershed Implementation Plan
This contract (PDF file, 7 pgs.) between Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC (Rocky Powell, Pres.) and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy is for the development of a final Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the entire Quittapahilla watershed. The Watershed Association's responsibilities under this contract are specified mainly on the final page of the document: (1) Planning meetings and decision making process to identify projects; (2) Coordinating with townships, the City of Lebanon, and Lebanon County representatives; (3) Initiating contact with landowners to explain Project Planning and Goals and confirm their interest in participating; (4) Developing and implementing a public education, participation, and outreach strategy; and (5) Developing and implementing a monitoring component to track projects and document that the watershed plan is being implemented. The anticipated date for the "deliverable" (the final WIP) is 31 May 2018.
October 2016. Center for Watershed Protection, "Final Report, Cooperative Restoration Strategy," with "Lebanon County Retrofit Report," prepared for the Lebanon County Clean Water Alliance
These two reports — "Final Report, Lebanon County PA, Cooperative Restoration Strategy" (PDF file, 3.5 MB) and "Lebanon County Retrofit Field Investigation" (PDF file, 3.9 MB) — were produced by the Center for Watershed Protection for the Lebanon County Clean Water Alliance (LCCWA, of which the Quittapahilla Watershed Association is a member) thanks to a Technical Assistance Grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. The first report seeks to build the capacity of the LCCWA to develop a cohesive county-wide pollution reduction plan for reducing non-point source pollution delivered via stormwater runoff. The Retrofit Field Investigation summarizes the findings of a study on the feasibility and benefit of implementing control measures to meet the Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Plan for five municipalities in Lebanon County: Palmyra Borough, North Lebanon Township, South Annville Township, the City of Lebanon, and South Londonderry Township.
September 2016. Temperature & Dissolved Oxygen Information for Trout Management in Quittapahilla Creek — Proposal to PA Fish & Boat Commission
This 22-page proposal submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission by Dr. Rebecca A. Urban, Associate Professor of Biology at Lebanon Valley College, in partnership with the QWA, the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the Lebanon County Conservation District, proposed to undertake a study to be conducted in summer 2017 to evaluate the suitability of Quittie Creek to support a year-round trout fishery. The proposal would have involved continuous monitoring of temperature and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the hottest months of the year, to be undertaken by summer student interns working under the supervision of Dr. Urban. Sadly, the proposal was not funded, but we keep it here as a reminder of the work that remains.
September 2016. Lower Snitz Creek Restoration Project: Hershey Property — Proposal to PA Fish & Boat Commission
This 28-page proposal submitted to the PA Fish & Boat Commission by the Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited in response to a targeted grant opportunity proposed a stream stabilization project in the amount of $147,562 to restore 1,200 linear feet of Lower Snitz Creek on the Hershey Property and Swiss Premium Dairy Property. A close reading of the proposal shows that this part of the watershed is desperately in need of restoration. Decisions for this and the above proposal (Temp & Dissolved O2) were announced in December 2016. As noted above, the Temp & Dissolved O2 study was not funded, but this proposal was -- to the tune of $115,000. Now Doc Fritchey needs to figure out how to make up the $35,000 shortfall.
May 2016. Benthic Macroinvertebrates Used as a Biomonitoring Tool To Assess Quittapahilla Creek Water Quality
This 16-page report, prepared by Lebanon Valley College student Bryce Betz under the supervision of LVC Associate Professor of Biology Rebecca A. Urban, evaluates macroinvertebrate communities upstream & downstream of Phase I of the Quittie Creek Restoration Project. It compares samples collected in September & October 2015 (after the project's completion) with samples collected in Sept. & Oct. 2013, before the project commenced. The data show a decline in macroinvertebrate populations downstream of the project area, attributed to disruptions during construction and the time it takes for macroinvertebrate communities to reestablish themselves. The data provide an important baseline for subsequent annual monitoring.
June 2015. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Implementation Plan
This 8-page proposal to the PA-DEP's Growing Greener grant program, submitted by Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, on behalf of the Quittapahilla Watershed Association and the Lebanon Valley Conservancy, proposes the development of a Watershed Implementation Plan focused especially on the Quittapahilla mainstem and its main tributaries. The "deliverable" for this proposal is an "EPA 319 Watershed Implementation Plan approved by PA-DEP and US-EPA." The proposal's request for a grant of $26,250 was approved in April 2016, as seen in this award letter.
August 2013. Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration, Phase I - Construction Scope of Work and Budget
This is the executive summary of the scope of work (PDF file, 5 pgs., 128 KB) included with the QWA's application to the PA-DEP for a Growing Greener Grant, submitted in August 2013. Because of the high cost of implementing the whole of the streambank stabilization project described below (the "Design Report" and the "Maps" listed below under May 2012), the QWA decided to split the project into two phases. This is the scope of work for Phase I, which covers roughly half of the total linear feet of contemplated streambank stabilization (ca. 1,750 feet, from about 500 feet upstream of the Raymond Swingholm Pedestrian Bridge to the small footbridge on Paul "Stumpy" Graham's land just off Bachman Road).
May 2013. Draft Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the Quittapahilla Watershed
This 49-page Draft Watershed Implementation Plan (PDF file, 3.7 MB) was prepared by the Quittapahilla Watershed Association in an effort spearheaded by principal author Brett Long, to whom the QWA extends its hearty gratitude. Building on the work of Powell (2006), the QWA's May 2013 WIP offers authoritative synopses of the watershed's historic and current impairments; models, measurements & targeted reductions in Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs); existing and future Best Management Practices (BMPs); technical & financial assistance; funding sources; implementation schedule; current and future monitoring; remedial actions; and related topics typically included in professionally produced WIPs. After reviewing the document, the PA-DEP was of the opinion that this draft WIP required substantial revision before it could be accepted. The QWA therefore commissioned Rocky Powell of Clear Creeks Consulting, LLC, to prepare a Growing Greener grant proposal for a freshly conceived WIP; this grant proposal was submitted in June 2015 (see above).
March-May 2013. Permits for Quittie Creek Nature Park Streambank Stabilization Project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers & PA-DEP
The required permits for the Quittie Creek Nature Park Streambank Stabilization Project are here: from PA-DEP (March 2013) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (May 2013).
June 2012. Quittie Creek Nature Park Stream Restoration Project In-Stream Physical Habitat and Fish Cover Monitoring Report.
Prepared by Charles A. McGarrell, Regional Habitat Biologist for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Division of Habitat Management, this 12-page report (PDF file, 1 MB) offers a rigorous scientific assessment of Quittie Creek's capacity to support fish & other aquatic life in the section of the creek where the restoration project is planned (see the two reports below). Its main findings: that the creek here has much more accumulated silt & muck than it ought to; that its banks are eroding and unstable; that it's too wide and too slow, with too few "pools" and too many "runs"; that its fish population is comparatively low; and that its capacity to support aquatic life would be measurably enhanced by the Stream Restoration Project described in the next two documents.
May 2012. Design Report for Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration Project
This 28-page design report (PDF file, 1.2 MB) was prepared for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Clear Creeks Consulting LLC in collaboration with Skelly & Loy, Inc. and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant. The Design Report offers a more detailed description & analysis of the projected stream restoration project discussed on the Projects & Grants page of this website. It includes discussions of the watershed's climate, physiography, geology, soils, land use, hydrology, wetlands, in-stream biological communities & habitats, channel morphology & stability assessment, and restoration design, as well as photographs of streambank erosion and a map of the project site area.
May 2012. Maps Detailing Quittie Nature Park Stream Restoration Project
These 32 pages of exquisitely detailed & multicolored maps, graphs & diagrams (PDF file, 43.2 MB) were prepared for the Quittapahilla Watershed Association by Clear Creeks Consulting LLC in collaboration with Skelly & Loy, Inc. and funded by a PA-DEP Growing Greener Grant. They offer an exceptionally vivid graphic representation of exactly what the Quittie Nature Park stream restoration project will entail along every foot of its projected 3,450-foot length.
February 2010. Snitz Creek Park Wetland Mitigation Bank Prospectus
This 11-page prospectus (PDF file, 1.3 MB) was prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The goal of the project described in this prospectus is "to create approximately 4.0 acres of Palustrine emergent, Palustrine scrub shrub and open water wetland habitats and approximately 2 acres of riparian buffer. The objective of the wetland bank is to provide mitigation for unavoidable wetland impacts on future PennDOT projects, especially bridge and roadway projects on the Lebanon County (LEBCO) MPO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This bank will serve the Lower Susquehanna Watershed. . . . A walking trail, wildlife habitat structures and educational kiosks will be incorporated into the site design so as to enhance the use of the site."
April 2007. Growing Greener Grant Application
This 3-page grant application (PDF file, 1 MB) sought funding for the design, permitting & construction of the first Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation. BMP Site 3 (just south of Chestnut St. on the west side of Lebanon) was one of nine available sites identified in the December 2006 Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 2 - Restoration and Management Plan (see below). Site 3 was selected as the first site for implementation because Lebanon County owns most of the land area required to construct the BMP and has agreed to donate the land for this use. Once constructed, this BMP will remove sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous from the watershed. The project ran into obstacles and has not yet been implemented, but it remains on the QWA agenda.
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 1 - Findings Report
This authoritative & detailed report by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC, represents the culmination of the 2001 Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant and builds on his June 2003 Preliminary Findings Report. In Powell's words, "This Final Findings Report [Vol. 1] and Restoration and Management Plan [Vol 2] constitute the deliverables for Phase 1B and describe/document all of the work completed on the Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Project with both Environmental Stewardship Grants."
Executive Summary
Cover Page & Table of Contents
Findings Report
References
Plates
Plate 1 - Watershed Map
Plate 2 - Subwatershed Map
Plate 3 - Topographic Map
Plate 4 - General Geology Map
Plate 5 - Detailed Geology Map
Plate 6 - General Soils Map
Plate 7 - Detailed Soils Map
Plate 8 - Land Use Map
Plate 9 - Floodplain Map
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Vol. 2 - Restoration & Management Plan
This is the second part of Clear Creek Consulting LLC President Rocky Powell's "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship Grants.
Executive Summary
Cover Page & Table of Contents
Restoration & Management Plan
References
Restoration Maps
Bachman Run
Beck Creek
Brandywine Creek
Killinger Creek, Gingrich Run & Buckholder Run
Lower Quittapahilla Creek Mainstem & Unnamed Tributary
Lower Snitz Creek
Upper Quittapahilla Creek Mainstem
Upper Quittapahilla Creek Subwatershed
Upper Snitz Creek
Restoration Projects
Bachman Run
Beck Creek
Brandywine Creek
Buckholder Run & Gingrich Run
Killinger Creek
Quittapahilla Creek
Snitz Creek
Unnamed Tributary
Upper Quittapahilla Creek
December 2006. Quittapahilla Creek Watershed Assessment, Appendix
This is the third & final section of Clear Creek Consulting LLC Rocky Powell's "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship Grants. Those sections without hyperlinks consist of dozens of individual files (Excel & JPEG) that will be made available to authorized entities upon inquiry, as indicated below.
Cover & Table of Contents
Biological Assessment
Fish Table 1
Fish Table 2
Fish Table 3
Macro Table 1
Macro Table 2
Macro Table 3
Macro Table 4
Gage Calibration - 27 Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Habitat Evaluation -
Main Stem Photos - 233 JPEG files (available upon inquiry)
Stream Morphological Assessment - 500 JPEG & Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Subwatershed Photos - 138 JPEG files (available upon inquiry)
Water Quality Data - 37 Excel files (available upon inquiry)
Water Quality Monitoring
Summer 2004. Water Testing along Quittapahilla Creek, Beck Creek, Bachman Run & Snitz Creek.
Produced from data compiled and analyzed by Lebanon Valley College Biology major Stephen Newell for an independent research project undertaken from June to August 2004 under the supervision of the Biology Department, the two files below include data on water and air temperatures, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate concentrations at six sites in the watershed.
2004. Stephen Newell Narrative Report.
2004. Stephen Newell Tables & Data.
June 2003. Final Report for Upper Hammer Creek Fencing & Riparian Buffer Grant
In this project, Quittapahilla Watershed Association representatives met with the Susquehannock Flyfishers and reviewed their goals for the Upper Hammer Creek Watershed. As a result of our collaborative efforts, 9,916 feet of stream bank on six cattle farms in the Upper Hammer Creek Watershed were fenced and riparian buffers planted along the fencing. The project also resulted in successful streambank stabilization on one farm and significant BMP work on adjacent farms.
June 2003. Final Report for Little Swatara Creek Riparian Buffer/Stream Bank Fencing Grant
A grant to supplement this DEP Grant was one received from DCNR that provided the Quittapahilla Watershed Association the funds to install over 9,825 feet of stream bank fencing on the Little Swatara (Funk Farm, Herr Farm, T. Martin Farm). The DEP funds were used to put in the necessary cattle crossings and associated work on the Funk Farm, Herr Farm, T. Martin Farm, and the Earl Zeigler Farm.
April 2003. Preliminary Findings Report for Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant of 2001
This report was prepared by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC, representing part of the "deliverables" for the 2001 Environmental Stewardship & Watershed Protection Grant (see below). It discusses the Project Study Components, Watershed Characterization, Subwatershed Analysis, Morphological Stream Assessment, Biological Stream Assessment, and Water Quality Monitoring.
January 2002. Geomorphic & Habitat Maps of the Quittapahilla Watershed
These beautifully rendered maps were produced by Rocky Powell, President of Clear Creeks Consulting LLC through a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
January 2002. Field Reconnaissance Maps
A second set of beautifully rendered maps of the Quittie watershed.
2000-2001. Creation of the Educational Wetlands at the Lebanon County Career & Technical Center (LCCTC)
The goal of this project was to create a viable educational wetlands on the grounds of the Lebanon County Career & Technical Center (LCCTC) in Lebanon to serve as a storm water basin, nutrient containment reservoir, and sediment trap during peak discharges, thereby alleviating the severity of flooding in surrounding areas. A related goal centered on public education & outreach through mulched footpaths and observation bridges, permitting public access to the area and raising public awareness of the critical importance of wetlands to surrounding communities & ecosystems. Students and local community organizations assisted in the planting of wetland species appropriate to this environment and the area monitored for natural succession as wetland species emerged.
June 2000. Watershed Restoration and Assistance Program 2nd Grant (WRAP-2)
The goal of this project was to continue streambank stabilization along Quittapahilla Creek, Snitz Creek, Killinger Creek, Beck Creek, and Bachman Run. Substantial segments of these streambanks were restored and stabilized through the installation of streambank fencing and replacing riparian buffers. The water quality was also monitored. This project was made possible thanks to the combined efforts of the QWA and many local community organizations.
December 1999. Watershed Restoration and Assistance Program 1st Grant (WRAP-1)
This project's goal was to install stream bank fencing and plant trees & shrubs in riparian buffers on cattle and dairy farms in the Quittapahilla Watershed, focusing on Quittapahilla Creek, Bachman Run, Beck Creek & Snitz Creek. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had identified these tributaries as impaired waters as a result of non-point source pollution from nutrients, sediment from surface runoff, and nutrients from groundwater pollution. For this project the QWA enlisted the help of individual volunteers (including employees of the PA-DEP) and a number of local community organizations.
February-April 1999. Report of Water Quality Testing under Dr. Paul Wolf
This PDF file (8 pp., 5 MB) carries the title, "Report of Water Quality Testing at 11 sites along the Quittapahilla Watershed, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Paul Wolf, Professor of Biology, Lebanon Valley College, between 24 February and 28 April, 1999". Its opening lines read: "The purpose of this study was to monitor nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphates, pH, and turbidity levels along Bachman Run, Snitz Creek, Beck Creek and Quittapahilla Creek." The study found some disturbing trends — like sharp spikes in orthophosphates in late April — but considered overall nitrogen levels to be in the "within acceptable ranges". One wonders how these data would have shifted in May, June, and July.
1998. Water Quality Data Collected in Quittapahilla Creek by TRC, Inc.
"Copies of field screening and water sampling results from Quittapahilla Creek" from Robert J. Golden, Jr., Manager, Environmental Permitting, TRC Environmental Corp., to David Lasky, May 6, 1998 (9 pp., PDF file). Offers a sound scientific appraisal of the Quittie's water quality at various points on December 17, 1997, the date of TRC's sampling. "The sample was analyzed for anions, cations, heavy metals, and wet chemistry parameters." Results included high nitrate & phosphorous concentrations and excessively high temperatures at the Lebanon Sewage Treatment Plant, but overall the numbers painted a pretty decent picture. "Field measurement results were consistent with previously reported data suggesting that water quality in Quittapahilla Creek is generally good." The Quittie is shown to be holding its own. This report also appears on the Archives page.
1997. Biological Assessment of the Susquehanna River Basin Study (excerpts)
This PDF file (13 pp., 7.5 MB) offers brief excerpts from a much larger study of October 1997 by Carrie L. Traver, "Water Quality and Biological Assessment of the Lower Susquehanna SubBasin," Publication 190, Water Quality & Monitorying Programs Division, Susquehanna River Basin Commission. Offering a rich trove of techical data on Quittapahilla and Swatara creeks in relation to the whole of the Lower Susquehanna watershed, the study shows the Quittie performing poorly relative to its watershed neighbors. Its waters are the coldest, it has far & away the most "Shredders" and the lowest number of "EPT Taxa" (the lowest biodiversity scores), and both the Quittie and Swattie are tied for last for having the lowest "Total Biological Score" of "10" (compared to a score of "30" for the North Branch of the Mahantango Creek, e.g.). The Quittapahilla watershed emerges as the most impaired of all the watersheds draining into the Lower Susquehanna River Basin.
1970s-2000. Water Quality Testing Data by U.S. Geological Survey
This Excel spreadsheet contains water quality data for Quittapahilla Creek and its tributaries dating back to 1934 (a single entry), with most of the data collected from the 1970s to the year 2000. Measurements included water and air temperatures, pH, turbidity, and nitrate & phosphate concentrations at numerous points along the watershed.