Local Municipalities Asked To Work Collaboratively To Improve Wissahickon Watershed

After a unanimous decision in January to continue talks about the Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership, municipalities in the Wissahickon Watershed in Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, must now adopt an Intergovernmental Agreement ordinance to officially move forward.

The Agreement simply states that they will commit to work together on a real plan to improve drinking water, mitigate damaging flooding, reduce streambank erosion, protect fish and wildlife and restore valuable recreation area throughout the Creek corridor.

Local municipalities began meeting in June to vote on joining the Agreement.

"The Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership is a unique, unprecedented opportunity for our local communities to come together to restore the Wissahickon Creek," said Rick Collier, Board Chair, Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. "This is our chance to Own the Solution, and we will likely not get this chance again."

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association is once again leading the effort to educate elected officials representing the 16 municipalities in the watershed - as well as local residents - about the importance of officially signing onto the Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership.

Some residents remain unaware of the Creek's importance to drinking water or that it is officially considered "impaired."

Local residents, community groups, and environmental organizations are mobilizing and showing their support by signing a petition encouraging municipal leaders to adopt the Intergovernmental Agreement ordinance this summer.   Hundreds of people have signed the petition to date.

Decision-makers from all arenas say that the Partnership is imperative to protecting and restoring clean water.

It enables the municipalities to own the solution and shape future regulatory guidelines instead of complying with the current pending strict pollution limit, or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) from the Federal government.
The Partnership reduces costs for all participating municipalities due to the William Penn Foundation's commitment of over $1 million in financial support for planning.

In addition, the Partnership is advantageous in that it allows municipalities to share resources and receive guidance from experts in the field.

"This is a win-win situation for today - for municipality leaders, for community members, and for the overall health of the Wissahickon Creek," said Laurie Grant, Director of Institutional Advancement at WVWA. "More importantly, we should be thinking about tomorrow and join together to secure a healthy future for our children and grandchildren."

Sixteen municipalities in the watershed have been asked to sign the Intergovermental Agreement: Abington Township, Ambler Borough, Cheltenham Township, Horsham Township, Lansdale Borough, Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery Township, North Wales Borough, Philadelphia County, Springfield Township, Upper Dublin Township, Upper Gwynedd Township, Upper Moreland Township, Whitemarsh Township, Whitpain Township and Worcester Township.

Click Here to view a fact sheet about the Clean Water Partnership.

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