By: Logan Beegle

Little Conestoga Creek Foundation is restoring miles of the creek, helping the environment and creating more sustainable areas.

 

Legacy sediment is the buildup of deposited waste from human activities. This waste could include anything from

• agricultural clearance
• mining
• road building
• clearing out native vegetation.

There are many more examples of legacy sediment, but another main cause of this is alterations to the river system. Alterations could include engineering structures regulating the flow of the river like dams. This type of sediment produces large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus which can be damaging to the ecosystem downstream.

The Little Conestoga Creek Foundation began a long-term project to remove centuries worth of sediment along the Little Conestoga Creek. The foundation will also remove and relocate Lancaster City sanitary sewer lines. These relocations will clear the way for more trail improvements and make planting native vegetation possible.

Starting in 2022 they began removing legacy sediments that have been building up for years disrupting the surrounding environment. It reduces the water quality, impacts aquatic wildlife, buries floodplains, and disrupts the natural flow of the stream. Floodplains are low-lying areas that are easily flooded by nearby

• rivers
  

  Little Conestoga Creek. Photo By: Logan Beegle

• streams
• ponds
• lakes
• oceans.

These areas are important to the environment and wildlife for many reasons. Floodplains can support more plant and animal species. Also, they protect from flooding other areas and act as a natural filter improving the water quality.

Restored floodplain areas also increase the suitability of diverse plant species and increase species richness in these areas. When legacy sediment is removed reconnecting the original water way it saturates the soil giving plant life the proper nutrients they need to grow. Also, the water pollution significantly decreases on the water’s surface. Thus, restoring the waterway’s original purpose.

The foundation estimates that they have removed and relocated 13,000 cubic yards of legacy sediment. Then, native vegetation will be planted providing even more homes for local wildlife to the improved floodplain. Native pollinators like bees, wasps, and butterflies will follow, making the area their home. Even native insects like various beetles will benefit the environment around the creek.

Early 2024, Little Conestoga Creek Foundation continued floodplain restoration and started relocating sewer lines from Lancaster City. The relocations will provide the opportunity to create new walking trails and other environmentally friendly projects around the Little Conestoga Creek. This sustainable effort and benefits to the community can inspire more projects to help the local environment.

The restoration and creation of trails will have a positive impact on the community as well as the environment. There will be educational opportunities and give residents the chance to connect with nature in a newly renovated area.

The local project not only has direct benefits on the Lancaster community, but also positively impacts the nearby counties and states. With the legacy sediment building up around the creek the gases it produces impacts the larger water system that is connected to the creek. The Conestoga and Susquehanna Rivers are directly impacted from the sediment. Also, Chesapeake Bay is impacted by the nitrogen and phosphorus that travels downstream, hurting the environment.

In the future, Little Conestoga Creek Foundation plans to continue its removal and relocation of over ten thousand cubic yards of legacy sediment in various locations along the creek. They will continue to do floodplain restoration and further improve the landscape to the surrounding area. Also, the foundation installs erosion control matting around sections of the water. This prevents soil erosion and helps to stabilize it at the same time.

Their hope is that this work will inspire other environmental restoration projects along the creek and in other bodies of water. Environmental projects like this can have a lasting impact on future generations and have many benefits to the local communities.

 

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The Little Conestoga Creek flows into the Conestoga River. This then leads into the Susquehanna River, then empties out into the Chesapeake Bay. The Conestoga River is a primary contributor to sanitary and drinking water in several townships in Lancaster County. Forty percent of the drinking water comes from the Conestoga River. One of those townships is the City of Lancaster which has over 57,000 residents. The river flows for about sixty miles through multiple counties in Pennsylvania. Some of the main tributaries to the Conestoga River include the Cocalico Creek, Mill Creek, the Lititz Run, and the Little Conestoga Creek.

The Conewago Creek is another example of floodplain restoration in Lancaster County. Another tributary to the Susquehanna River, the Conewago Creek travels eighty miles through several counties including York and Adams County. 125,000 pounds of legacy sediment was removed near one of the Creek’s tributaries, Brills Run. The restoration resulted in a reduction of the total Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Also, 1.2 million pounds per year of Total Suspended Sediment. This helps the townships meet their requirements for the Pollutant Reduction Plans. The removal of this sediment will also create an aesthetically pleasing ecological area near the creek that will be preserved by the Lancaster Conservancy.

Profile

Robert Krasne is the President of the Little Conestoga Creek Foundation. Also, he is the CEO and Chairman of Steinman Communications. The Steinman Foundation is one of the main sponsors for the restoration project, where Robert is the Co-Chair. Krasne is a well-known figure in trying to create more environmentally friendly areas throughout Lancaster County. Along with the Little Conestoga Creek restoration he has also served on the Board of Trustees for Lancaster Farmland Trust. Robert also guided the Economic Development Company and implemented an Economic Recovery Plan which raised over thirty million dollars. This went towards the CARES Act funding where it helped families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Little Conestoga Creek Foundation is leading this restoration project and plans to keep improving creek along with the environment around it. The origins of this foundation start in 2019 where several independent foundations commissioned a study on the water quality of the creek. After the study the Little Conestoga Creek Foundation was created by the Steinman Foundation to carry on the project’s efforts to improve the water quality and reintroduce biodiversity in the surrounding environment. This project will also improve the larger waterways that are connected to the creek, like the Susquehanna and Conestoga River. Even the Chesapeake Bay will see some of the benefits from the creek’s restoration.

 

 

 

References

Clilverd, H. M., Thompson, J. R., Sayer, C. D., Heppell, C. M., Axmacher, J. C., Stratford, C., & Burningham, H. (2022). Simulated effects of floodplain restoration on plant community types. Applied Vegetation Science, 25(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12697

Forshay, K. J., Weitzman, J. N., Wilhelm, J. F., Hartranft, J., Merritts, D. J., Rahnis, M. A., Walter, R. C., & Mayer, P. M. (2022). Unearthing a stream-wetland floodplain system: increased denitrification and nitrate retention at a legacy sediment removal restoration site, Big Spring Run, PA, USA. Biogeochemistry, 161(2), 171–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00975-z

LandStudies Admin. (2022, March 29). Conewago Creek Floodplain Restoration – LandStudies. LandStudies. https://landstudies.com/conewago-creek/

Little Conestoga Creek Foundation. “Home – Little Conestoga Creek Foundation.” Little Conestoga Creek Foundation, 5 June 2024, lccbgc.org/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Updates – Little Conestoga Creek Foundation.” Little Conestoga Creek Foundation, 9 Sept. 2024, lccbgc.org/updates/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.