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Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan October 2004

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Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan October 2004 Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan October 2004 Prepared by: Philadelphia Water Department Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership Tookany/Tacony- Wissahickon Pennypack Poquessing Frankford Watershed Watershed Watershed Darby-Cobbs Watershed Watershed Management Plan 1 of 5 Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………… E-1 Section 1: Background…………………………………………………………………... 1-1 1.1 What is a Watershed and Why a Plan?................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Brief History of the Darby-Cobbs Creek Watershed………………………….. 1-2 1.3 Comprehensive Planning and the Regulatory Framework…………………... 1-5 1.4 Overlapping Aspects of Regulatory Programs………………………………... 1-17 1.5 PADEP’s Watershed Based Planning Approach……………………………… 1-20 1.6 Other Relevant Programs………………………………………………………... 1-21 1.7 Regulatory Agency and Stakeholder Partnerships……………………………. 1-23 Section 2: Integrated Watershed Management for the Cobbs Watershed…………. 2-1 2.1 General Planning Approach……………………………………………………. 2-1 2.2 The Cobbs Planning Approach…………………………………………………. 2-3 Section 3: Goals and Objectives………………………………………………………... 3-1 3.1 Stakeholder Goal Setting Process……………………………………………….. 3-1 3.2 Consolidated Watershed Planning Goals and Objectives……………………. 3-2 3.3 Goals Prioritization……………………………………………………………….. 3-5 3.4 Target C Evaluation Criteria Weighting……………………………………….. 3-7 Section 4: Darby-Cobbs Study Results………………………………………………... 4-1 4.1 Watershed Description and Demographics……………………………………. 4-1 4.2 Watershed Status and Trends…………………………………………………... 4-9 Section 5: Development and Screening of Management Options………………….. 5-1 5.1 Menu of Options………………………………………………………………….. 5-1 5.2 Screening of Options……………………………………………………………... 5-10 5.3 Modeling Assessment of Structural BMPs……………………………………... 5-17 Section 6: Development and Evaluation of Management Alternatives 6-1 6.1 Development of Alternatives……………………………………………………. 6-1 6.2 Evaluation of Alternatives……………………………………………………….. 6-10 6.3 Evaluation Results………………………………………………………………... 6-18 6.4 General Conclusions……………………………………………………………... 6-20 Section 7: Implementation Guidelines…………………………………………………. 7-1 7.1 Target A: Dry Weather Water Quality and Aesthetics……………………….. 7-4 7.2 Target B: Healthy Living Resources…………………………………………….. 7-37 7.3 Target C: Wet Weather Water Quality and Quantity…………………………. 7-62 Section 8: Cost and Institutional Analysis 8.1 Estimated Cost of Implementation……………………………………………... 8-1 8.2 Distribution of Costs Among Communities…………………………................ 8-6 8.3 Institutional Analysis…………………………………………………………….. 8-11 Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan June 2004 Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership Mission Statement “To improve the environmental health and safe enjoyment of the Darby-Cobbs watershed by sharing resources through cooperation of the residents and other stakeholders in the watershed. The goals of the initiative are to protect, enhance, and restore the beneficial uses of the Darby-Cobbs waterways and riparian areas. Watershed management seeks to mitigate the adverse physical, biological, and chemical impacts of land uses as surface and groundwater are transported throughout the watershed to the waterways.” Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan E-1 June 2004 Executive Summary Foreword This plan presents a logical and affordable pathway to restore and protect the beneficial and designated uses of the waters of the Cobbs Creek basin. Based on extensive physical, chemical and biological assessments, the plan explores the nature, causes, severity and opportunities for control of water quality impairments in the Cobbs Creek watershed. The primary intent of the planning process, as articulated by the stakeholders, is to improve the environmental health and safe enjoyment of the Cobbs watershed by sharing resources and through cooperation among residents and other stakeholders in the watershed. The goals of the initiative are to protect, enhance, and restore the beneficial uses of the Cobbs waterways and its riparian areas. The plan recommends appropriate remedial measures for the Cobbs Creek basin, provides a financial commitment to initiate the implementation of the plan, and seeks to provide the impetus for stakeholders of the Darby basin to follow suit. The Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership worked with the Philadelphia Water Department to complete a comprehensive, multi-year watershed assessment covering the Darby, Cobbs, and Tinicum sub-basins (see Figure E-1). Results of the watershed-wide assessment suggests that at some times during dry weather periods, bacteria contamination of the Cobbs’s waters prevents the achievement of water quality standards that would support swimming or other forms of primary contact recreation in the creek. Also, stream aesthetics, accessibility and safety are compromised due to illegal litter and dumping, trash from stormwater discharges, and bank deterioration along the stream corridors. Existing aquatic and riparian habitat, degraded by urban runoff, limit the diversity of fish and benthic life and prevent the development of healthy living resources conditions necessary to support recreational activities such as fishing. Wet weather water quality is limited by bacteria discharged from combined and separate storm sewers. High rates of urban runoff cause flood flows that erode the stream banks and bottoms and expose and compromise utility infrastructure. The good news is that measurable progress can be made towards restoring the legislated designated beneficial uses of the stream. To this end, this plan provides an investment strategy for achieving definable levels of environmental return in the Cobbs Creek basin. It is estimated that significant progress towards improving the areas of environmental concern discussed above can be made for an investment of less than $100 per household per year over a 20-year horizon. The plan proposes that the other municipalities in the Cobbs basin make similar financial commitments to implementation that will ensure the restoration and preservation of the waters that flow from and through their communities, shaping their quality of life along the Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan E-2 June 2004 way. A significant portion of this funding is directed towards work that reflects the widely recognized national need to renew our water resources infrastructure. These efforts basically are things that should be done anyway. It is proposed that a combination of Federal, state, local government, and private funding be brought to bear to implement this plan. The Philadelphia Water Department expended over $1 million in the development of the plan, and will commit $2 million per year or more towards implementing its recommendations over the next 20 years. The plan proposes that the other municipalities in the Cobbs basin make similar financial commitments to implementation that will ensure the restoration and preservation of the waters that flow from and through their communities. Figure E-1: Darby-Cobbs Watershed. This plan summarizes the results of watershed assessment activities in the Darby, Cobbs, and Tinicum basins. Detailed planning, alternatives analysis, and recommendations are provided for the Cobbs basin. The plan recommends appropriate measures for the Cobbs Creek basin and seeks to provide an example for stakeholders in the Darby and Tinicum basins to follow. Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan E-3 June 2004 Introduction Stewardship of a river must be built around the needs of the community. It will grow by making visible the critical way the health of the watershed is integral to basic quality of life issues. Once the seeds of stewardship have been planted, members of the community can be recruited to take action in protecting their watershed. In 1999, The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) acted as the municipal sponsor of the Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership, an exciting and groundbreaking effort to connect residents, businesses and government as neighbors and stewards of the watershed. Since then, the Partnership has been active in developing a vision for the watershed and guiding and supporting subsequent planning activities within both the Darby and Cobbs sub-watersheds. PWD, with the support of the Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership, has just completed a multi-year watershed planning effort to restore the Cobbs Creek Watershed to one that can boast fishable, swimmable and enjoyable streams. The planning process and implementation recommendations are contained in the recently completed Cobbs Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan (CCIWMP). This executive summary presents the major findings of the CCIWMP. Background The Darby-Cobbs Watershed Partnership first worked with PWD to complete a comprehensive, multi-year watershed assessment covering the Darby, Cobbs, and Tinicum drainage basins (see Figure E-1). The assessment provides a snapshot of current conditions in the watershed, and lays the groundwork for the development of more detailed plans to improve conditions in each of the sub-basins within the Darby-Cobbs watershed. With portions of the Cobbs Creek watershed served by combined sewers, and with significant interest from the Partnership in improving water quality and riparian habitat conditions, PWD then took the next step by leading the development of the CCIWMP. During the stakeholder process, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council drafted a resolution for the partnership
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