News Flash

Do you enjoy the wide-open spaces and lush green parks of Easttown Township?  Did you know that our Township has a Recreation, Open Space and Environmental Resources Plan?   The plan, which was adopted in 1993, can be found on Easttown Township’s website at the following link: https://www.easttown.org/DocumentCenter/View/747.  The Easttown Township Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) plans to take a fresh look at this plan, since the Easttown Township 2018 Comprehensive Plan calls for the Recreation, Open Space and Environmental Resources Plan to be updated.

The EAC has been especially interested in the effort to update the 1993 plan.  A necessary first step for this multi-year-project is baseline mapping of Easttown's key natural environmental features and sensitive areas.  These include watersheds, streams, wetlands, steep slopes, riparian buffers, floodplains, and woodlands.  With the exception of woodlands, these natural features have been mapped in various the Township plans, and change slowly overtime.  In contrast, vegetative cover patterns can change far more rapidly, within a few decades, so information about this aspect may need updating more frequently.

The EAC also observed that maps contained in the more recent planning documents do not fully capture the details or extent of tree cover in the Township.  The Chester County Planning Department assisted the EAC through its computerized photogrammetric mapping process to depict tree canopy in the Township.  The result was a quick turnaround success that makes it feasible to now consider proceeding with the next phase of the environmental planning portion, within the overall project.  The EAC is grateful to the Chester County Planning Department for its assistance.

What does the mapping result look like and why might this matter?  Easttown is bathed in green!  The new map reveals that most of the Easttown enjoys tree canopy cover in contrast to the land use map from the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which shows that only five percent of the Township is either vacant or agricultural.  The land use map also depicts that approximately 70 percent of Easttown is in residential use (almost all single-family housing).  The new map demonstrates that Easttown nevertheless can be characterized as largely occupied by an inter-connected environmental system that we, as residents, cherish, and which merits planning for, protecting, and enhancing for generations to come.

Finally: as captured in its title, the 1993 Recreation, Open Space and Environmental Resources Plan considers three overlapping topics: recreational facilities, open space, and environmental protection.  Accordingly, the EAC has reached out to both the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission to begin laying groundwork for a longer-term effort that ideally could start next year with Board of Supervisors approval.

This spring as you prepare your yard to be the envy of your neighbors, consider the animal and insect populations who also call your yard home.  In the United States, “turfgrass has replaced diverse native plant communities across the country in more than 40 million acres, an area the size of New England, and we are adding 500 square miles of lawn to the United States each year” (Tallamy, 2021). In replacing native plant communities with turfgrass, we are severely limiting the food and shelter native insects, birds and animals rely on to survive, thus destabilizing local food webs. By limiting food webs, we put pollinators at risk. “Pollinators are essential to life as we know it on planet Earth. In addition to pollinating a third of our crops, animals (bees, bats, hummingbirds, and others, but mostly bees) are responsible for pollinating 87 percent of all plants and 90 percent of all angiosperms (flowering plants). So if pollinators were to disappear, 87 to 90 percent of the plants on planet Earth would also disappear. Not only would such a loss be a fatal blow to humans, it would take most other multicellular species with it as well” (Tallamy, 2021).

Additionally, while turfgrass is the social norm due to its aesthetically pleasing and durable nature, it is relatively impervious, making it difficult for rainwater to infiltrate through. Thus, rainwater runs off lawns, picking up soil, road-based salts and pollution as it flows depositing these pollutants into surrounding waterways. Excess minerals and pollutants can lead to excessive algae growth, lower aquatic oxygen levels, fish kills and impaired waters.

What can you do to aid both pollinators and local waterways? Shrink your lawn! Doug Tallamy, local professor, and best-selling author suggests homeowners half their yard’s turfgrass. Easy ways to do this include planting groundcover or beneficial plants around existing trees, “connecting the dots” between existing plant beds with a larger continuous plant bed, hedging the edge of a property with native bushes, shrubs or trees or returning a corner of your lawn to the wild. In exchange for turfgrass, landscape with native plants and trees preferred by local pollinators such as native oaks and willows, perennial sunflowers, blueberry bushes, goldenrod, and asters. Additional native plants can be located by zip code on the National Wildlife Federation’s Native Plant Finder and the Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds. Many local nurseries now carry native plants and employees are happy to help you locate sources for ones you cannot readily find.

You can also make your remaining lawn more low maintenance and environmentally-friendly! Raise the blade height of your mower to 2.5-3” to allow the grass roots to penetrate farther into the soil and thus retain more water and shade out any weeds. Don’t bag up grass clippings, let them lay and feed nutrients back into the soil (wet clippings should be picked up) and add in clover for a sweet smelling, bee friendly, nitrogen fixing, always green turfgrass alternative!

For more information please check out: https://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/blog/2015/09/01/shrink-your-lawn, https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/smaller-lawns/5164.html and Doug Tallamy’s latest book, Nature’s Best Hope.  

Most streams in Easttown Township are part of the Darby Creek Watershed which flows south through Delaware County to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and under I-95 into the Delaware River.  The Darby and Cobbs Creek Community Science Program (“DCCCS”) is a partnership between Willistown Conservation Trust (“WCT”) and Darby Creek Valley Association (“DCVA”) established in 2021.  Over 40 volunteers monitor the water quality by measuring water temperature, conductivity, sodium chloride, and nitrogen every four weeks at 38 sites throughout the Darby and Cobbs Creek Watershed.

During the height of the Fall 2024 drought, from which the area still has not recovered, as of early January 2025 many DCCCS volunteers across the Darby and Cobbs Creek Watershed noticed the chloride levels at their sites were skyrocketing, while other sites remained stable or even saw a reduction in chloride levels.  That raised a lot of questions – starting with “Why?”

Lauren McGrath, Director of the Watershed Protection Program at WCT, explains: “While some chloride is present in the geology of Chester and Delaware Counties, the majority of chloride is introduced into local watersheds through the application of road salts (usually sodium chloride, NaCl) to melt snow and ice in the winter.  As the snow and ice melt, the salt flushes into local waterways directly or through stormwater drainage systems.  In areas where salt is applied frequently and in abundance, the chloride can build up in the soils, leading to salty groundwater and high levels of chloride year-round – instead of just after winter storms.  Chloride, including the form road salt, is known to be harmful to sensitive fish and invertebrates, including the recently discovered Darby Creek mussels, in freshwater systems.  When salt buildup in soils meets drought conditions, it leads to salty streams.  Less rainfall (or in the case of October 2024 no rainfall) leads to little to no dilution of groundwater entering the stream, increasing the concentration of chloride in local waterways.  When these dry conditions are paired with unseasonably warm temperatures, it is a recipe for rapid evaporation of surface waters.  Evaporation leaves chloride behind, causing even higher concentrations of chloride.  During a severe drought, stream systems are almost entirely fed by groundwater, which means the potential for higher concentrations of chloride.”

In the Easttown Township Darby Creek headwaters, there are currently six testing sites, with more to be added soon, monitored by DCCCS volunteers (see map).  Of these six sites, one small tributary on South Leopard Road saw a marked increase in chloride levels, while chloride levels at other sites remained stable or even saw a decrease (see scatter graph).  Why?  Lauren continues: “Reasons for this are complicated - these sites with stable chloride levels may have less salt contamination in groundwater sources or there may be more surface flow.  Many of the sites most highly impacted by the drought are small tributary streams.   Interactions between surface water and groundwater are complex and remain poorly understood across the entirety of the watershed.”  

However, there is no question that what we do on land impacts the water quality of the Darby Creek headwaters and our groundwater year-round: there is too much sodium chloride (salt) in our waterways and groundwater.  In all six Darby Creek testing sites in Easttown Township, chloride levels are consistently above the stress threshold all year long, especially in areas of Darby Creek nearer to dense impervious surfaces where water cannot pass through (roads, parking lots, etc.).  Further, because chloride is corrosive, high chloride levels in the creek and groundwater can contribute to costly infrastructure and property damage.

Simple Acts of Kindness to Care for Darby Creek and Our Groundwater – the cumulative impact can make a big difference!

There are two fundamental ways to reduce chloride in Darby Creek and in our groundwater:  (1) minimize the use of road salt while ensuring safety; and (2) encourage infiltration and filtering of stormwater which removes salts and pollutants before stormwater gets into the groundwater or Darby Creek.

You can minimize the use of road salt while ensuring safety by:

• using less – it goes further than you think!  Shovel first and then apply road salt to targeted areas.  Only use what is needed: a 12 oz cup of salt clears 20 feet of driveway or 10 sidewalk squares.
• reusing your salt!  Sweep it up after the snow melts to reuse at the next snowfall.
• using calcium chloride or magnesium chloride instead of sodium chloride.  Both are safer for the environment but are more expensive than sodium chloride.
• avoiding using any products containing urea, kitty litter, or ashes.
• making sure your road salt is stored in a dry, covered area that prevents any inadvertent contact with land or water.

You can encourage filtration (cleaning) of stormwater by:

• letting your grass grow a couple of inches, which will increase the root system and facilitate some stormwater filtration.  Grass roots grow half the length of the grass blade: short grass and lawns can be impervious!  Or, where permissible, convert a portion of your lawn to a meadow.
• choosing native plants for your yard.  Native plants have more extensive root systems that maximize stormwater absorption and filtration, while offering habitat and food for native wildlife, birds, and pollinators.
• If your property borders a waterway (creek, tributary), planting and/or protecting a riparian buffer of native shrubs and trees to filter stormwater and protect the waterway banks.
• considering a rain garden for infiltration and filtration or a downspout planter to intercept stormwater from your gutters before it becomes runoff.

If you have substantive stormwater or flooding issues, consider a bioswale (consult with a professional engineer on design, soil and plant analysis, and impact to neighboring properties).  Easttown’s Stormwater Management Advisory Committee (SMAC) is also a resource: 

Source:  Darby and Cobbs Creek Community Science Program

On the left, the six DCCCS testing sites in Easttown Township identified by blue dots.  On the right, the scatter graph shows chloride levels generally above the stress threshold year-round at all sites in the Darby Creek headwaters in Easttown Township.

Source: Stroud Water Research Center and Lauren McGrath, Willistown Conservation Trust

Developed areas with impervious surfaces of 50-80% (red) or 80-100% (maroon) are most concentrated along Lancaster Avenue, suggesting higher chloride levels in Darby Creek in or near those areas, which then flows downstream throughout the watershed.

Source: Lauren McGrath, Willistown Conservation Trust

The extensive root systems of native plants are far superior to turf grass for infiltrating and filtering stormwater, removing salt and other pollutants before the water reaches the groundwater aquifer or Darby Creek.

This spring the Easttown EAC wrapped up an exciting project: the creation of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the Township and recommendations for climate action. This project was done with the Penn State University Local Climate Action Program (LCAP). After completing a community-wide greenhouse gas emissions inventory earlier this year, two Penn State University students, guided by their faculty advisor, worked with an Easttown Twp EAC member and Township staff to draft a climate action plan to reduce emissions and pull together other case studies and resources for community education and outreach to support climate action.

The greenhouse gas emissions inventory finds that like many residential communities, Easttown Township’s biggest emissions sectors include Transportation (43%), Residential Energy (40%), and Commercial Energy (12%).   These areas therefore represent the biggest opportunities for emissions reductions and were a key focus of the spring LCAP work.

The draft climate action plan produced during this spring semester provides a set of recommendations for potential climate action that will not only reduce Easttown’s greenhouse gas emissions but also provide important and desirable co-benefits related to improving public health, reducing energy costs, and enhancing community resiliency. The plan includes both short- and long-term recommendations with varying degrees of emissions impact.  For the largest sector, Transportation, recommended actions included improving transportation efficiency, building out electric vehicle charging locations in the community, and integrating electric vehicle charging requirements into building codes.  For residential and commercial energy, opportunities to reduce energy demand in our buildings, incentivize building electrification, and increase energy efficiency were recommended.  There are opportunities available to residents to improve the weatherization of their homes, learn more about cost-effective ways to implement solar on their rooftops, and get rebates and discounts from PECO to reduce overall at home electricity demand.

The EAC’s participation in the LCAP has guided some strategic thinking about climate action and potential alignment with the existing and robust Chester County Climate Action Plan while developing tailor-made recommendations for Easttown Township.  The resulting draft document is intended to be a living document from which we can pull ideas to ensure a more thriving, resilient Eastttown.

Most streams in Easttown Township are part of the Darby Creek Watershed which flows south through Delaware County to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and under  I-95 into the Delaware River.  Much of the western Darby Creek headwaters are in our township.  This is significant because what happens in the headwaters impacts the water quality in the creek throughout the watershed.  

Land development, tree removal, and especially impervious surfaces are the greatest causes of degraded water quality in our local waterways. An impervious surface is one that does not let water pass through it, such as pavement (parking lots, roads, sidewalks, driveways), the foundation of a house, or a hard-surface patio.  Impervious surfaces disallow water from being absorbed by the land. Without deep tree and plant roots to hold it, soil is washed away as stormwater flows over it, eroding creek banks, increasing sediment, and carrying pollutants (especially road salt), all of which is detrimental to water quality and aquatic wildlife.

One of the most effective ways to improve water quality is through riparian buffers.  A riparian buffer is a long strip of preferably native vegetation thirty to one hundred feet in width bordering the creek bank. The most efficient riparian buffers, known as forested riparian buffers, include trees.  Lawns are not effective riparian buffers as grass roots are only as deep as the grass is tall.  According to the PA Department of Environmental Protection, "Riparian forested buffers are crucial to the protection and enhancement of the water resources in Pennsylvania.”

Riparian buffers are even more critical for the Darby Creek headwaters here in Easttown Township.  As noted by Fischer and Fischenich (2000), “Riparian buffers in headwater streams have much greater influences on overall water quality within a watershed than those buffers occurring in downstream reaches.   Even the best buffer strips along larger rivers and streams cannot significantly improve water that has been degraded by improper buffer practices higher in the watershed.”

Accordingly, a mature forested riparian buffer in Easttown Township, such as the one along the Darby Creek tributary in Hilltop Park, is invaluable.  Here’s why…

A forested riparian buffer captures 70-90% of sediments and provides bank stabilization, improving water quality.  Enhancing a tree and shrub riparian buffer with a vegetated filter strip of tall native grasses traps fine silt and sand, increasing sediment retention to 92-96% and further augmenting water quality.  Additionally, each mature deciduous tree in a forested riparian buffer absorbs up to 11,000 gallons of water per year, thereby reducing flooding.

An exemplary forested riparian buffer, such as the one at Hilltop Park, includes wetlands, marshes and connected floodplains that promote a robust ecosystem locally and downstream in the watershed.  Water quality in the Hilltop Park tributary is comparable to other higher quality Easttown Township Darby Creek water testing sites, indicating that sediment pollutants and contaminants are being processed by the mature forested riparian buffer and the functioning aquatic ecosystem.

Forested riparian buffers are more efficient than other types of riparian buffers.  Compared to grassland buffers, forested riparian buffers slow the rate of water flow by 2.5 times and reduce peak flows to downstream waterbodies, resulting in reduced rates of flooding. Forested riparian buffers also have up to 5 times more biotic life which filters out contaminants, such as up to 9 times more nitrogen uptake and up to 2-5 times more phosphorus uptake.  Excesses of these nutrients (eutrophication) can cause algal overgrowth and blooms, leading to hypoxia (dissolved oxygen depletion) and the death of aquatic organisms, including fish.

The trees in a forested riparian buffer are critical to a thriving aquatic ecosystem. Macroinvertebrates are important bioindicators of water quality and a healthy ecosystem.  Macroinvertebrates are animals without a backbone that can be seen without using a microscope or magnifying glass, such snails, mussels, crayfish, and the larvae of dragonflies, mayflies, and many other insects.  These aquatic macroinvertebrates are incredibly important to the ecosystem.  Mussels filter and clean the water.  They are a food source for muskrats, river otters, raccoons, and waterfowl.  The aquatic insect larvae provide sustenance for frogs, salamanders, turtles, sunfish, trout, bass, and other fish.  Aquatic insects that have undergone metamorphosis and fly off are food for frogs, turtles, bluebirds, tree swallows, goldfinches and other birds.  Macros, as they are often called, rely on trees in several ways.

 Forested riparian buffer tree canopies offer shade which keeps water temperatures cool, increases dissolved oxygen, and minimizes algae overgrowth, allowing aquatic organisms such as fish, freshwater mussels, and other macroinvertebrates to survive and thrive in the creek.  Decaying tree limbs and trunks produce dissolved organic matter which accounts for 46% of a creek’s nutrient energy, feeding diatoms (microalgae), fungi, bacteria, microscopic organisms, and macroinvertebrates while also stabilizing the bank, dissipating flow energy, and creating overhang habitat for fish.

Falling leaves from trees in a forested riparian buffer create leaf litter that accounts for 34% of the stream’s nutrient energy, providing sustenance for microscopic aquatic life and macroinvertebrates, which in turn supports the food chain for insects, fish, birds, and terrestrial animals. Tree detritus and leaf litter in creeks are the foundation of the food pyramid, accounting for 80% of the stream’s nutrient energy that sustains aquatic organisms.

Thus, trees are the keystone species for the creek ecosystem and water quality.  A keystone species is an organism that the entire ecosystem depends upon.  The removal or reduction of a keystone species can lead to significant changes in, or even the collapse of, the entire ecosystem.

You may have noticed many small tree saplings and shrubs, usually with deer protection guards around them, planted along streams.  These are newly installed riparian buffers where there was likely only grass along the creek banks.  These riparian buffer restoration projects are the beginnings of what will someday be a forested riparian buffer.  It will take at least 10-15 years for a newly planted riparian buffer to have any impact on water quality and 50-100 years for the full benefits of a mature forested buffer to be realized. This is because saplings must grow before they can do the ecosystem work of mature trees in a forested riparian buffer.  But we must start somewhere!  If you live along Darby Creek or a tributary, planting any number of native trees or shrubs – the more, the better – along the creek banks will ultimately contribute to improved water quality and a more robust aquatic ecosystem.

 References:

Fischer, R.A. and Fischenich, J.C. 2000.  Design recommendations for riparian corridors and vegetated buffer strips.   U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Laboratory.  Vicksburg, MS.

PA Department of Environmental Protection. 2010.  Riparian Forest Buffer Guidance. www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/Get/Document-82308/394-5600-001.pdf.

Sweeney, Bernard W. and Blaine, James G. June, 2007. Resurrecting the In-Stream Side of Riparian Forests.  Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education 136: 17-27.

Wise, David. The Other Half of Forested Buffers: Stream Ecology and the Role of Forests.  Stroud Water Research Center. https://stroudcenter.org/video/stream-ecology-and-the-role-of-forests/