Save Chrome Run Stream: Stormwater management improvements are urgently needed!

To Middletown Township Council and Township Leadership:

1. Vote “YES” to constructing a regional retention basin
A potential site has been identified for a new retention basin. Corey Jackson, the Vice President for Williamson College of the Trades has offered to allow the township to build a regional retention basin on the school’s property. It would hold an enormous amount of water, reducing flood events in our area. It is an extremely generous offer on the part of the Williamson College of the Trades, and we implore the Middletown Township Council and Township leadership to move forward with plans to construct this basin. The new basin is currently our best hope for solving our flooding problem downstream on Chrome Run and Glenloch and for protecting our vulnerable sanitary sewer system which has been unearthed due to flooding and erosion.

2. Make additional improvements to the current stormwater management codes
We ask that you increase the existing retention requirements for all new business construction in the Chrome Run watershed, and have additional controls in place during interim construction. Furthermore, we want the current code for revitalization of any business properties draining into the Chrome Run Watershed to include a minimum 50% increase in the amount of storm water retention.

3. Reprioritize where MS4 program funds are being spent
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) refers to a collection of structures designed to gather stormwater and discharge it into local streams and rivers. These systems include retention basins, ditches, roadside inlets and underground pipes, all designed to gather stormwater from built-up areas and discharge it, without treatment, into local streams and rivers. Under the MS4 program, the Township is granted a Permit from Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to discharge a specified amount of a pollutant (sediment, in this case) into water under certain conditions. The township current permit runs from 2018 to 2023. During this time, the Township must demonstrate a reduction of sediment by 10%. With the amount of sediment brought down in the violent floods over the past year, it is likely that this rate of reduction has already been seriously compromised. Under the current program, Chrome Run is listed as one of six “impaired” streams in Middletown Township. Subsequently, the township must complete work on Chrome Run to improve conditions. The residents living along Chrome Run have suffered extensive damage to their stream bed and the banks of the stream have been destabilized, primarily due to the hazardous amount of stormwater. Despite this widespread residential impact, in selecting sites for improvements, the township has given preferential consideration to projects located on municipally owned property to the exclusion of private land owners.

4. Stop the influx of sediment, debris, and construction material entering the Chrome Run Stream from the SEPTA work site
The current SEPTA railway project and the construction of the new culvert being built on Chrome Run is allowing sediment, tree debris, and construction material to flow downstream causing damage to private and public property. This has become a safety issue for floodplain residents, as heavy trees, branches, and boulders are racing down the stream during storms. In the past storm, a manhole cover was knocked off the sanitary sewer system potentially causing a sewage spill and risking the health and safety of all residents downstream in the Chrome Run / Glenloch and Chester Creek watersheds. Over the past few years, the delicate ecosystem of the watershed has been destroyed, the fish are gone, as well as the ducks, kingfishers, blue herons, and other wildlife that once lived here.

5. Mitigate stormwater coming from the Riddle Memorial/Main Line Health Campus
While the Riddle Memorial Hospital’s ongoing expansion project will be an asset to the community, it has created stormwater issues for the homes behind the hospital and downstream. The Granite Run Homes along Northbrook section of the community have been the victim of continuous seepage and this has resulted in water flowing along the roadway and has created dangerous freezing road conditions during winter months. Last year, the Granite Run Homeowners Association engaged a stormwater remediation company which developed and installed a collection system that takes the seeping waters from Riddle Memorial/Main Line Health Campus to the inlet to Chrome Run. The township must pursue stricter measures to control the stormwater leaving the hospital grounds via building additional retention basins as part of the hospital's new expansion project.

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Where is Chrome Run Located:
The Chrome Run stream starts under the Granite Run Mall / Granite Run Promenade, travels under the road and emerges again behind Just Tires on Route 1. It travels along the Riddle Memorial / Main Line Health property, and then through the townhomes on Granite Drive (Granite Run Homeowners association). After winding its way through the back of the Sunnybrae / Riddlewood developments in the rear of the properties on War Admiral Lane and Rampart East, the stream continues onward through Williamson College of the Trades’ property. Chrome Run then traverses through the back yards of several residential properties on Lafayette Circle and Glenriddle road. It flows under the bridge on Glen Riddle road near Brandywine Drive. The stream also flows through the rear of the properties on Mystic Lane and Howarth road. At the bottom of Howarth road, it passes under the small asphalt “bridge” that crosses the stream. After Howarth, Chrome Run travels along the side of Mt. Alverno and flows into Glenloch pond and across St. Andrews Drive, which is part of the Glenloch community (Glenloch Homeowners Association). The stream exits Glenloch and crosses Chester Cree Trail where it enters Chester Creek near Snyder’s Ace Hardware.

Who Created the Petition:
This petition was created and reviewed by the neighbors living on Chrome Run stream including Joann Allen, Anthony Allen, Pam Barry, Peter Barry, Renee Kelly. Additional reviews and inputs were included from Korah Mani,Vice President of the Granite Run Homeowners Association, and Jim Calgiano, President of the Glenloch Homeowners Association,

Who will receive this petition:
Middletown Township Council and Township Leadership

Signing and sharing our petition:
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