Cheers to stormwater funding. With a week of snow and ice to distract us, last week’s power outages and street floodings may already seem like a thing of the past but it’s a past we are doomed to repeat if we don’t start doing something about the stormwater. It’s a gospel the Goose Creek Alliance has been preaching since its inception in 2021. Now the nonprofit organization has a full six-stage Watershed Action Plan and a $77,300 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to get it started. (Note: West Chester Borough also received a $200,000 grant from the agency to support its work in Goose Creek watershed.)  

I spoke with Alliance founder and board member Michael Dunn on the group’s plans for Goose Creek and the newfound funding.

HWC. What are your goals for Goose Creek?

MD. Our goals are to restore ecological function, cleaner water and wetland habitat, promote ecologically responsible floodplain restoration to aid in the reduction of flooding, utilize the stream as a living laboratory for university research, and create a greenbelt that connects the Borough to the surrounding region at large.

HWC: What will you do with the new funding?

MD: The grant awarded will allow us to finance a professional Watershed Action Plan. That is an engineered study that also encompasses ecological concerns. This is the first step to thoroughly assess the watershed and to develop steps for action.

HWC: Are you working in collaboration with local townships or are you on your own?

MD: We have endorsements from West Chester Borough, West Goshen, West Chester University, and the Chester, Ridley, Crum Watershed Association. (They represent the watersheds downstream from Goose Creek.)

HWC: This seems like an ambitious project. How are you hoping to complete it all?

MD: We have allied with LandStudies, a leading expert in floodplain restoration engineering to complete this project and anticipate completed deliverables in early 2025.

Well, congratulations, and good luck. Any progress we can make on reducing flooding and repairing Goose Creek is a win for us all!

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Originally published on Jan. 19, 2024

This story was part of a longer West Chester newsletter featuring all the news and events of the week. Curious what else is going on? Subscribe now to get the full story. New issue comes out Friday.