Announcements

Updates:

1. The stream is being re-located in some areas to restore the dimensions necessary for a hydraulically healthy stream and reduce erosion.  Some areas where the stream is being relocated were chosen for technical reasons and due to multiple constraints, including avoiding sewer lines and impacting wetlands
   
   
2. The entire old channel will be filled with the material excavated to form the new channel



3. Our project team has been asked if the design increases flooding along Charles Street. A good analogy is the Pennsylvania Turnpike. If the Turnpike is moved closer to Charles Street, it will not increase the traffic on Charles Street: someone going from Cinnaminson to Harrisburg does not want to get off and go on Charles Street. Likewise, where the stream channel is located is not what dictates water surface elevation, rather it is the ease of water conveyance and the downstream control.
   
   In the case of the former, the new channel conveys water easier than the old channel, hence why it is capable of lowering the water levels for the 10-year and higher floods. So just because the stream is closer to Charles Street does not in and of itself imply that Charles Street properties will flood more frequently or more easily. The hydraulic models demonstrate that the new stream alignment and cross section does a better job at conveying the flow (at a lower water level) than the existing channel.
   

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia has released the Final Environmental Assessment for the Southampton Creek ecosystem restoration project. The report includes comments from the public and responses from USACE.

Southampton Creek Final Environmental Assessment

Project Overview

The Project area is located along Southampton Creek in Upper Southampton Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Southampton Creek is the northeastern tributary of the Pennypack Watershed.  The creek flows through the southwestern portion of Upper Southampton Township and has a total drainage area of 5.8 square miles.

This project will improve Southampton Creek using natural stream channel design to restore the riparian ecosystem along approximately 2 miles of degraded suburban stream. 

The goal of this project is to restore bank stability, improve aquatic habitat, and re-establish the sediment transport cycle in Southampton Creek.  This will be accomplished by applying the principles of fluvial geomorphology to the stream restoration design.

Restoration of the stream banks and riparian buffer will greatly reduce the influx of pollutants into the creek.  Stream restoration features and wetlands will be incorporated into the design to retain and absorb stormwater.  Healthy vegetation surrounding the creek (the riparian buffer) and on the stream banks will filter stormwater runoff, preventing sediment and pollutants from running into the creek.  The vegetation will also stabilize eroding stream banks and provide habitat for various riparian species, such as amphibians and invertebrates.