Public Meeting on Wissahickon's Health to Happen After Delay

It may have been delayed for close to half a year, but will take place next week.

"A Creek in Crisis: A Town Meeting on the Health of the Wissahickon Creek" was originally scheduled to take place at at Sugarloaf in October.

But high demand for the event caused the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) to move it to a bigger location.

The event will still happen in Chestnut Hill, but it will now take place at at 8000 Cherokee St. on March 29 at 7 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.).

A news release says the following:

The impact of the Wissahickon Creek on the lives of those living in the Wissahickon Watershed is absolute. Though the Wissahickon Creek has a humble beginning in the parking lot at Montgomery Mall, it continues through nine municipalities to the confluence of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It is a significant waterway providing approximately 10 percent of the drinking water to Philadelphians, as well as habitat for local wildlife and recreation and natural beauty for area residents.

The meeting is intended to inform the community about significant environmental challenges to the Wissahickon Creek, like diminishing water quantity, stormwater runoff, impaired water quality and flooding that could severely impact the health of the Wissahickon Creek and its tributaries.

The WVWA is sponsoring the event along with the Friends of the Wissahickon, Chestnut Hill College and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

A panel at the meeting will feature Delaware River Basin Commission Exeuctive Director Carol R. Collier, Stroud Water Research Center Senior Research Scientist John K. Jackson and Philadelphia Water Department Deputy Water Commissioner Chris Crockett. It will be moderated by Pennsylvania Environmental Council Southeast Regional Office Vice President Patrick Starr.