Program Funding

Four rail companies owned the Paoli Rail Yard which was the source of the PCBs that contaminated the Valley Creek Watershed. The Valley Creek Trustee Council entered into legal settlements with the four companies to provide restitution for the damage done to the fishery. The settlements included $1.35 million to create a Restoration Fund for the Valley Creek Watershed. As of October 2006, the Restoration Fund stood at approximately $1.5 million. The main use of the Fund is to provide funding for restoration projects undertaken in the watershed that are consistent with the goals of the Restoration Plan. Funds are administered by the Valley Creek Trustee Council.

Past Projects Funded by Valley Creek Trustee Council
Detention Basin Retrofit. The Council provided $3,000 to help the Valley Forge Chapter of Trout Unlimited fund a retrofit of a basin owned by East Whiteland Township at Sidley and Thayer Roads, near the headwaters of Valley Creek. The retrofit modified the grassed-basin with a raised outlet to allow a small amount of water retention, lengthened the path of water flow to increase evaporation and infiltration and planted 419 trees and shrubs and 300 live stakes and 3 types of meadow grasses to increase evapotranspiration.

A second grant of $8,900 was provided to East Whiteland Township to build and install a fishing deck for handicapped persons. The deck was installed next to a foot-bridge over Valley Creek in Valley Creek Park, East Whiteland Township.

A third grant of $11,367 was provided to Tredyffrin Township as a match for the township’s Growing Greener grant from PA DEP to construct two rock infiltration trenches downslope from two storm sewer outlets in the upper portion of Crabby Creek Watershed.

A fourth grant of $58,100 was provided to Tredyffrin Township to help upgrade a parcel of land purchased by the township to protect the forested land from development. The parcel is being converted to a park by Tredyffrin Township along Little Valley Creek at Swedesford Road. Funds will be used for stabilizing eroded streambanks along the creek, removing past road surface through the parcel, and installing best management stormwater practices.

Applications for Grants
Potential grantees can apply to the Valley Creek Trustee Council for grants to restore Valley Creek Watershed. The application form can be downloaded, filled out and returned to this web site or can be mailed to the addresses on the form. Applications are being accepted twice a year on April 30 and October 31. The application form itself contains information about qualifying projects, eligible applicants, and how the grant applications will be reviewed and evaluated.

   Application Form (MS Word Document)
   Application Form (PDF)

Research and Monitoring
Several governmental and non-profit institutions and organizations have performed periodic or continuous research and monitoring in the Valley Creek Watershed. This information may be useful to potential applicants for grants from the Restoration Fund. Below are short descriptions of known research and monitoring projects that may be helpful, including links to contacts or web sites.

Water Resources Authority of Chester County. WRA CC has conducted two major research studies involving Valley Creek; one is a fluvial geomorphology assessment of the watershed while the other is a conservation study of all watersheds in Chester County. dsf.chesco.org/water/site/default.asp

University of Maryland – Baltimore Campus. Sediment transport research studies within Valley Forge National Historical Park. Contact Dr. Claire Welty. weltyc@umbc.edu.

United States Geological Survey. Maintains a gauging station on Valley Creek near the PA Turnpike bridge. Real-time flow data can be obtained at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis. USGS also maintains two sampling stations just upstream on Little Valley Creek and Valley Creek of the confluence of those streams. 25 years of chemical and biological data are available. A turbidity monitor was recently installed. USGS also performs biological monitoring at various rotating sites in Valley Creek Watershed. Some of this work is funded by and performed for the Water Resources Authority of Chester County and the Chester County Health Department.

PA Department of Environmental Protection. Has a set of approximately 12 sampling stations throughout the watershed. Has collected chemical and biological data for about 30 years. Data is available from PA DEP office in Norristown, PA and through STORET. (http://www.epa.gov/storet/).

Valley Forge Chapter Trout Unlimited. Has 2 ½ years of 15-minute interval temperature data for the same sampling stations as PA DEP plus data from 3 ambient temperature gauges. http://www.valleyforgetu.org/index.html. horton_r@verizon.net.

Stroud Research Laboratory. Has collected chemical and macroinvertebrate data at a site in Valley Forge National Historical Park for the past 10 years. http://www.stroudcenter.org/schuylkill/sites/site004.htm

Heritage Conservancy. Performed an aerial research survey (circa 2000) of vegetation on both sides of Valley Creek. Mapped and notated sides of Valley Creek with little to insufficient vegetated buffers. www.heritageconservancy.org/about/

This table summarizes who has collected different kinds of data sets in the Valley Creek Watershed. The sources with an asterisk (*) are performing continuous monitoring while the others have done primarily single studies.

USGS. United States Geological Survey
DEP. PA Department of Environmental Protection
VFTU. Valley Forge Chapter of Trout Unlimited
VCTC. Valley Creek Trustee Council
CC WRA. Water Resources Authority of Chester County
PFBC. PA Fish and Boat Commission

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