Little Mahanoy Creek restoration discussed in Frackville
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Aaron Clauser, of Clauser Environmental, presents a restoration plan for the Little Mahanoy Creek at Frackville Borough Hall on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.
FRACKVILLE – About two dozen Frackville residents heard a presentation regarding the restoration of the Little Mahanoy Creek Thursday night.
Wayne Lehman, County Natural Resource Specialist for the Schuylkill Conservation District, and Aaron Clauser, of Clauser Environmental, New Smithville, presented their plan to restore the creek and improve its water quality.
The Little Mahanoy is considered an impaired creek, largely because of runoff from impervious surfaces in Frackville and the adjacent villages of Altamont and Englewood.
“Our vision for this project is to restore water quality,” Clauser said. “Downstream of Little Mahanoy Creek, down towards Gordon, there are actually trout in the creek that are reproducing. But when you are upstream of Malone’s Road, that section is considered impaired for aquatic life.”
Another goal of restoration would be to alleviate the impact of flooding.
“Flooding is a volume issue. There is more volume of water getting to that stream channel, culvert, whatever it is, that it can handle,” Lehman said. “You take six inches of rain and you get that over two days, you’re probably not going to experience flooding. If you get that six inches of rain over two hours, it just overwhelms that channel.”
The pair developed a watershed restoration plan, outlining potential projects that could help meet their goals. The projects were split into three levels: high, medium, and low priorities. Lehman said it would cost between $1.2 Million and $2 Million to undertake every high and medium priority project.
Lower priority projects, they said, include things like litter clean-ups, could be done by a volunteer group with minimal planning. Those projects would make minimal impact on flooding, Clauser said.
Higher priority projects would include the creation of bioretention areas to allow water to naturally filter out pollutants and the restoration of stream banks in some areas to create a safe floodplain, preventing the flooding of populated areas.
Clauser said the development of the plan would make the acquisition grant funding possible for various projects.
He said the watershed hasn’t appeared to have changed much since the early 1900s.
“A lot of the issues and flooding concerns are older things that crop their heads up when we get a really bad storm,” Clauser said.
He added that the Little Mahanoy is largely protected from the acid mine drainage that has impacted other local creeks, like the Shenandoah, the Mahanoy, the Catawissa, and the Shamokin.
Clauser said the planners walked the entire stream channel to assess the needs and problems along the creek to create the potential projects, developing cost assessments and potential stakeholders.
He added that any project would be subject to cooperation from property owners.
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