Trouble on the Tully

[Duff]

 

[McSneek]

I watched this video earlier today. I’m going to assume the people that planned and executed the project know what they are doing. Also it doesn’t look like it is finished yet.

 

[TYoung]

A lot of that sediment will eventually wash down stream after a few good rains. People just need to be patient.

 

[wcosner2]

This looks very similar to the project at Aquetong creek. Definitely, a little rough to look at in the beginning but as long as there is no insane rain this summer, I think that will quickly fill in with grasses and things that will do a decent job of stabilizing a good amount of that bank. Also like McSneek said, it seems like they are not done. Does anyone know if there is any restoration planned for this section?

 

[Fish Sticks]

Hopefully they excavate all the sediment behind the dam down to gravel basal layer/colluvium so that if any springs are flowing into riparian zone they do not become “perched” and have to run overland in the sun all the way to the stream. Getting rid of accumulated sediment behind dam could also help ground water recharge/downwelling depending on the geology there.

By removing any legacy sediment you make any springs trickling out of the valley wall flow into the hydric soils and percolate down into the gravel layer then they travel to the stream under ground and stay cold. When that legacy sediment is there springs often come out of valley wall and up well and run on top of the land and warm up. When river floods you can imagine how much easier it is for the river to spread out access the flood plain and then percolate into the hydric soils/ gravel layer to recharge ground water. Now tour keeping springs under ground but also using more flood/rainwater to recharge your springs than if that legacy sediment was sitting on top blocking the recharge into the gravel layer.

 

[LehighRegular]

ALL - this was a very unfortunate result of some heavy rains experienced last week. It washed out some of the accumulated sediment behind the old dam. There is a plan to remove the sediment that accumulated over the years from behind the dam and restore the flood plain. I also believe there will be artificial riffles and fish habitat structures installed with tree plants and live stakes. American Rivers is in charge of the project. I'm not sure of the timing to remove the remaining sediment. The Berks CD has expressed concerns about moving that phase of the project forward so additional sediment isn't washed into the Tully. Hopefully this is a short term impact for a long term benefit.

 

[pcray1231]

I know the project is a good thing, and I know it's not done. One fear I have is that once construction is complete, trusting high water events to flush out the damage. For Cacoosing, great. The Tully is a low gradient tailwater that they never let get too high. It will happen over time, but it's going to happen slowly in the Tully.

 

[silverfox]

I think the moral of the story here is that "we" all need to do a better job of educating the public about projects. Some simple temporary signage (as suggested in the video) would go a long way to educate the public about what is going on and why.

 

[Fish Sticks]

One thing we do when working in lebanon county/dauphin county is we have had several community events where we get speakers from the Chesapeake bay foundations, restoration professionals, and others to talk about the benefits to cold water ecosystem, landowners dealing with flooding and errosion, cattle health, the bay, and aesthetic benefits. Various stakeholders get educated on the benefits and we often get many more people asking us for projects on their property or brining issues in the watershed to our attention that way too.

It really increases community buy in as far as the watershed level effort to restore and when these things are welcomed and visible that really helps with funding future projects. We bring elected officials to our worksites on tours and tell them about community engagement, benefits to various stakeholders and how happy people are the work is getting done. Then when it comes time to appropriate its not just a conservation line item, it represents something to them they know their constituency see a value in. Also makes it harder for people to do shady stuff in the watershed when community buy in is there. Any project your doing you want the community aware.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Funders have realized community engagement increases follow through on projects, long term monitoring and maintenance, and acceptance of others in the watershed to projects, as well as protective against harm from individuals/business interests. Grants have questions now about landowner/community outreach and education. I see something like the below made for each watershed becoming the standard going forward. Check it out its pretty cool.

Turtle Creek: A Partnership to Improve Impaired Streams in Union County, PA

Everyone does a little, so no one has to do it all.

gis.dep.pa.gov

 

[moodyblues]

If memory serves me well, the permitting process for such work involves PA DEP, The Army Corp of Engineers, and PFBC, to all sign off on this. I would hope that TCTU is monitoring this as well. This is where a good rapport with the local Waterways Conservation Officer comes in handy as well.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Long-term benefits of dam removal on Cacoosing Creek outweigh sediment impacts on Tully, project manager says [Video]

Area anglers are concerned about the volume of sediment fouling the Cacoosing and Tulpehocken creeks after removal of the Papermill Dam in Spring Township.

www.readingeagle.com

 

[Facemelted]

Funders have realized community engagement increases follow through on projects, long term monitoring and maintenance, and acceptance of others in the watershed to projects, as well as protective against harm from individuals/business interests. Grants have questions now about landowner/community outreach and education. I see something like the below made for each watershed becoming the standard going forward. Check it out its pretty cool.

Turtle Creek: A Partnership to Improve Impaired Streams in Union County, PA

Everyone does a little, so no one has to do it all.

gis.dep.pa.gov

This is amazing.

 

[Fish Sticks]

This is amazing.

Yea they did an awesome job, things like that help the river make important friends, garner support, and give community sense of pride/responsibility for their waterway. I would love to see the “stories” format used for science communication on fisheries science to general public as well to help bridge gap between hard to decipher for the lay person studies and public understanding. Or on invasive species. Or if explanations/examples for specifically best management Ag practices could be incorporated into a story format like this for a neighboring close by watershed landowners familiar with and it would easier to get landowners in the watershed excited about conservation. A story is so much more interesting to most people than someone spewing factoids at them.

 

[Mike]

I know the project is a good thing, and I know it's not done. One fear I have is that once construction is complete, trusting high water events to flush out the damage. For Cacoosing, great. The Tully is a low gradient tailwater that they never let get too high. It will happen over time, but it's going to happen slowly in the Tully.

The delayed (by temporary Blue Marsh flood control storage) lower Tully flows and velocities closely following flood and near-flood conditions in the Schuylkill Basin are pretty darn substantial.

 

[chadm]

What is the current status of the creek? The water gauge temp seems to be very warm. Was hoping to get there in the next few weeks

 

[McSneek]

What is the current status of the creek? The water gauge temp seems to be very warm. Was hoping to get there in the next few weeks

It will stay warm until we get some sustained seriously cool weather and the lake temps start to drop. What little bit of cold water Blue Marsh holds in the summer is long gone.