Groundbreaking held for Memorial Park stormwater project in Chester but not all are on board (Delco Times – 3/19/24)
Officials gather to celebrate $9.9 million effort to build a retention pond to mitigate flooding and upgrade some amenities but the mayor and a leader of a prominent civic group say ‘unnecessary evil’
By PETE BANNAN | [email protected] | The Delaware County Daily Times
PUBLISHED: March 18, 2024 at 6:13 p.m. | UPDATED: March 18, 2024 at 6:27 p.m.
On Monday the Stormwater Authority of the City of Chester broke ground on a $9.9 million project to address flooding problems in Veterans Memorial Park but not all in attendance were supportive of the project.
With water from recent storms ponded nearby, officials gathered in the parking lot to discuss how the project would help solve flooding and give it a groundbreaking push.
But not Mayor Stephan Roots, who wanted no parts of it, saying, “A lake is not what I support,” adding that the authority made flooding worse by taking down trees. And, community activist Zulene Mayfield, who is well-known in Chester for taking stands against more industrial development at the waterfront, said there are better ways to manage stormwater.
But the bulk of those in attendance were for the project, explaining that for many years, heavy rains would flood the park and create havoc downstream, flooding houses, businesses and the city’s only library, the J. Lewis Crozer Library.
Untreated water would flow directly into the Delaware River, dragging trash along with it, officials say.
A detailed map of the project shows a retention-type pond along the edge of the property next to the Amtrak tracks north to near the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue, similar to where the ponded water was Monday.
A paved entryway will include benches, a gazebo, and elevated boardwalk with observation deck as well as a stone walking trail with lighting.
Funding has been provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania revolving funds through a Pennsylvania program called PennVEST.
The money will allow Chester to address the problem and provide some amenities to enhance the beauty of the park. A timetable for completion was not available.
Efforts to address flooding in the park have been ongoing since 2019 when bio-retention basins, rain gardens and catch basins were installed in both Memorial Park and at Chester High School.
Basically free and clear
Leslie Gillespie-Marthaler, acting director of the Water Division of the EPA’s Philadelphia office, said projects such as this help public health as flood control.
“Stormwater management and green infrastructure can help mitigate the impacts of climate change, enhance equities through greater access to common spaces. We all need access to green space,” she said. “This is a great example how improvements to water quality can be a direct benefit to the community.”
Gillespie-Marthaler said the project will enhance green infrastructure, will help reduce combined sewer overflow and localized flooding as well as improving water quality in the Delaware River.
“I am very happy to say that the financing for this project is through loan principal forgiveness and grants. Nothing gets paid back,” Gillespie-Marthaler said.
Councilwoman Portia West recalled many storms, with water collecting in Chester.
“Stormwater management needed to happen here in Chester,” West said.
She recalled projects that have eliminated flooding in other locations in the city including Seventh and Norris streets as well as Route 291, which routinely flooded, and flooding in those spots no longer happen.
West said flooding in the park as well as the nearby library will be addressed by the new project.
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon said it’s no secret to local residents that one bad storm can lead to destructive stormwater that can impact the park as well as nearby properties as well as sending untreated water and debris into the river.
“One of the ways we have been able to address similar issues throughout this region is the implementation of new green stormwater infrastructure,” Scanlon said. “An approach that mimics what the natural environment would do, as much as possible.”
Items such plants, stones and soil filter stormwater more effectively. This reduces the amount of stormwater that enters treatment systems.
Scanlon said money comes from the Clean Waters state revolving loans fund to further the Clean Water Act particularly in low income communities.
Funding comes from the state program PennVEST which funds sewer, stormwater and drinking water projects throughout Pennsylvania.
Authority Executive Director Dr. Horace W. Strand said the agency went around the city speaking with residents about the project.
“We explained to Chester what we need to do to curb and solve this problem,” Strand said.
Throwing water on it
Community activist Zulene Mayfield said the area never flooded until officials capped a stream near the park.
Her organization, Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, believes there are there are better ways to manage stormwater issues, including a more extensive use of rain barrels.
“This was an unnecessary evil. They could have managed stormwater with rain barrels,” she said. “What they are doing (here) is still going down into the sewer and is still running into the Delaware River.”
Residents also worry that the water will be a magnet to children.
Mayfield’s group also say the stormwater authority acts as a tax on a city that is overburdened and underfinanced.
She said it was foolish to put extra taxes and impediments and extra costs on residents in a city that is trying to maintain homeownership.
She said resident taxes for (the authority) have doubled.
“It’s never been clarified to everyday citizens who are paying these bills,” she said.
The authority was established in 2016 to address stormwater-related issues, protect waterways and assist with economic redevelopment by attracting new business and increasing property values. Public records show the 2023 fiscal budget was $4.6 million.
According to a brochure, the organization has invested $40 million into projects, nearly all their employees are residents or native to Chester. They have repaved nearly 50 streets, cleaned or restored most city catch basins, removed over 27,000 gallons of water from the system as well as almost 995,000 pounds of debris from inlets.
Chester’s Mayor Stefan Roots, who was elected in November, was also on hand for the event, though he declined to take part in the groundbreaking.
“I don’t support this project at all,” said Roots.
When pressed, he said why
“When you do see water it is the result of poor drainage in the park. The solution they are proposing … we’ll still have that issue,” Roots said. “You used to see a bank of mature trees that would suck up much of what you see here.”
Roots said the authority came through and cut down many of those trees, making the standing water worse than if they had left the trees.
He also pointed out that the portion of the park that will include the retention pond will take away from softball fields, which he would like to encourage to bring back to the city.
“I’d love to see this section of the park have amenities like a skate park, or something the community is really looking for,” he said. “There are different solutions for what they are trying to accomplish here.”
Scanlon said residents who are concerned about utility fees have a legitimate concern, but she equated that to an apples-to-oranges discussion: The money that is available from the federal government is for the type of project being built, not utility fees.
“We’re going to keep talking with the mayor, and if there are concerns we can conduct oversight as to what goes on.” Scanlon said.
Following the event SAC officials and board members held a lunch at the Leake Center.
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