Changes

The area of Broomall’s Lake has resettled and is now a meadow with a free-flowing stream running through it. We have observed deer grazing as well as other wildlife. Due to the lack of rain as well as the change in hydrology, Broomall’s Run, as it passes through Glen Providence Park, appears to have a much lower flow. A great deal of sediment from the lake has also been deposited in the stream and probably in the pond. We are watching closely and consulting with experts to learn about the short and long term impacts on the stream and the pond. 

Construction

To the best of our knowledge, plans for construction of the dam and two way road continue with Media Borough as the project manager and is slated to begin in late 2018. We are not aware of either Delaware County or Broomall’s Lake Country Club (BLCC) agreeing to be owner — a requirement for DEP permit. Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to advocate for full stream restoration and an environmentally sensitive bridge across Broomall’s Run that addresses the community’s transportation needs. 

Zoning & BLCC Development

Media Borough has begun the process of changing the zoning of a few parcels in town to MERC (Municipal, Educational, Recreational, Community) and one under consideration is the BLCC property. This property has been used recreationally for nearly 100 years as a private swim club, and is one of the only remaining large tracts of undeveloped land in Media Borough. Delaware County’s Open Space Plan of 2015 encourages municipalities to “take full advantage of their planning and zoning powers to protect sites and land resources of community importance.” (Open Space and Recreational Plan, Vol. 1, Chapter 3, p. 29; Delaware County Planning Department, 2015.)

BLCC leadership is strongly opposed to this zoning change, expressing their desire to retain the right to develop their land, which they estimate to be worth more than 12 million dollars if developed into 17 townhouses, as stated in their attorney’s letter to Media Borough dated September 29, 2017. Many club members who attended a Borough Workshop meeting expressed surprise at the club’s opposition to preserving this historic tract of land. 

A group has emerged in support of preserving open space in Media called Keep Media Green. Friends of Glen Providence Park supports the preservation of the BLCC property as open space. It will protect the vulnerable Ridley Creek Watershed, of which Broomall’s Run is a part, will help keep storm runoff and flooding more manageable within the park, and will help to mitigate the effects of development all around Glen Providence Park and Media Borough. You can find Keep Media Green on Facebook. 

Footbridge

Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to work with a community coalition that has made proposals to, and met with, Delaware County Council about a way to establish a pedestrian footbridge at the partially removed dam — we expect to have an update soon.

Partial breach of Broomall’s Dam when it was completed in July

On February 22, about 100-150 people crowded into the Media Borough Parlor Room to meet with officials from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to discuss the planned partial breach of Broomall’s dam in late April.

After some time to look over the technical plans and respond to residents’ questions, the DEP presented the why’s and how’s of the removal of Broomall’s Dam for safety reasons. Roger Adams, Division Chief of Dam Safety, gave a compelling presentation of the dangers to human life and property when a dam fails. Examples include the Bayless Dam, in which 10” of rain caused a catastrophic failure.

High hazard dam in poor condition

Of the 3,371 dams in Pennsylvania, only 754 are high hazard dams. While Broomall’s Dam is smaller than large dams like the Youngstown Dam, it is still categorized as a High Hazard C-2 dam, based on the amount of water and sediment held back and the height. It is also a High Hazard dam in poor condition. Even if the dam is rebuilt, it will again be a High Hazard C-2 dam.

Broomall’s an orphan dam that is deteriorating

Duke Adams (no relation to Roger), took up the presentation and discussed the issues around ownership. The dam was built in 1883 by John Broomall for ice harvesting. In 1980 the Army Corps of Engineers found the dam to be structurally in poor condition. In 1996 the roadway was closed for safety reasons. No party, not Broomall’s Lake Country Club (BLCC), Media Borough or Delaware County have been willing to take up the maintenance responsibilities over this time. The DEP has considered Broomall’s Dam an “orphan dam” because of the lack of responsible or willing owner.

In June 2014, Delaware County, BLCC and Media Borough signed a stipulation and order. Duke Adams explained that this order means that Media Borough would manage the reconstruction of the dam, and Delaware County would take ownership of the downstream face, and BLCC would be the owner and responsible party for the upstream face.

In 2012, BLCC sued Media Borough over its plan for a one-lane compromise for the bridge  — a solution that was supported by borough residents, Friends of Glen Providence Park, and the majority of Borough Council. Shortly thereafter the dam began to deteriorate significantly, with entire pieces of wall crumbling on the upstream and downstream side. The DEP elected to lower the water level to its absolute minimum in June 2013, and when the lake level was not maintained, the DEP returned and lowered it again in March 2016.

Eliminate the hazard

However, due to continual delays and a lack of clarity of an owner (none of the three parties has stepped forward and take responsibility to date), the DEP has decided to eliminate the hazard of the dam. By removing nearly all of the standing water and a significant amount of liquid sediment, the pressure on the dam walls will be reduced. The hazard category will be lowered to C-4.  Their presentation highlighted the dangers of allowing high hazard dams to remain in place.

Work begins in early May

The work on the dam will begin around May 9th and should conclude within two months. During construction, the entire corner of 3rd and West Street will be closed to all traffic and the entrance to BLCC swim club will be closed, to reopen once the partial breach is complete.

The main spillway of the dam will be removed, as will the waterfall. Broomall’s Lake will drain almost completely and construction access into the lake will remain until the dam is reconstructed. The original stream of Broomall’s Run will find its own course and several springs that feed into Broomall’s Lake may make their appearance.

The DEP reported that before dam removal begins, up to two weeks will be spent to remove the PA Threatened Northern Redbelly Turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris) and native snapping turtles, which will be relocated to the pond in Glen Providence Park. The invasive Red-eared slider (a similar looking turtle) will be removed and donated to science programs. Other fish, frogs and invertebrates will have to find their way during the draining of the lake or they will perish. Traps to capture turtles were set on April 24th. 

Loss of pedestrian and bicycle access for Upper Providence for 2 years or more

The likely reason why so many people came to the meeting was due to the disruption of pedestrian and bicycle access across the dam starting at the end of April, and lasting until the proposed dam reconstruction. Roger Adams could not say how long the period between dam removal and dam reconstruction would be, but did not hesitate to say at least two years. (The dam reconstruction permit has not been approved or scheduled to date.)

There were a number of questions from the audience on the issue, particularly focused on Upper Providence residents who use Third Street frequently to walk into Media. Safety issues were also raised by residents, particularly the concern that if there were no access at all, some daring individuals would somehow find a way that would most likely be very unsafe. The DEP indicated that there might be a possibility of installing a temporary pedestrian bridge.

Stream Restoration

A benefit of dam removal is the re-establishment of open waterways and natural streams. Artificial dammed bodies of water not only present a hazard of failure on the downstream side, but they also hold back aquatic life and sediment that contribute to the overall health of our waterways. 

Pedestrian Bridge

A coalition of Upper Providence and Media neighbors and Friends of Glen Providence Park is working to establish a temporary pedestrian footbridge to maintain the connection between Media and Upper Providence in the time period between dam removal and dam reconstruction. The proposed footbridge is modular and can be relocated into Glen Providence Park at one of the former bridge sites once dam reconstruction begins. If you are interested in supporting this effort, please contact us.

As we reported in October 2015, the the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) will conduct a “temporary partial breach” of Broomall’s Dam this year. This is planned as a temporary dam removal until the proposed new dam is built. By conducting this partial breach, the PADEP is taking action to address the serious safety issue posed by the current Broomall’s Dam, which is a high-hazard dam that was declared unsafe in 1980 by the Army Corps of Engineers.  

Timeline

The PADEP originally intended to conduct the partial breach before June 1 this year, but the timeline has been updated. According to Duke Adams of the PADEP Division of Dam Safety, PECO will re-route the gas lines that currently run through the dam by July. Both the gas and water lines that run through the current dam will be permanently re-routed – the proposed new dam would not have utilities running through it.

The PADEP will begin the partial breach in September, and the process should take 6 to 8 weeks. This would mean that the breach should be complete by Thanksgiving. Based on the timing of the dam permit process, the PADEP indicated we are “probably 2 years off from construction” of a new dam – which would take us to spring 2018 for construction of the proposed new dam to begin.

What the partially breached dam will look like

“Preliminary” plan

Officials at the PADEP explained that the top layer of the current dam, including the roadway, will be removed – the resulting structure will be a smaller dam 10 to 12’ lower than the current dam. Upstream of the dam will be a stream in place of the current Broomall’s Lake – the PADEP will allow the stream to find its own channel. In the growing season, the new streambanks should fill quickly with vegetation. During the breach process this fall, there will be a dirt road causeway built upstream for construction access, but it is undetermined if that will remain until construction starts on the new proposed dam.

According to the PADEP, the stream will pass over the lower dam through a flow channel notched out of the top of the dam – there will be a waterfall lower than the current one. Downstream of the dam, there will be some riprap on the park side near the stream, but there will be minimal disturbance to the park. The PADEP indicated that only a few trees closest to the top of the dam will be removed when they take the level down. You can review the pdf of the PADEP’s preliminary partial breach plans, and pdf’s and images are also at the bottom of this article.

Park Access & 3rd Street Access

Officials at the PADEP advised that construction equipment will be staged at the 3rd Street entrance, so the 3rd Street entrance to Glen Providence Park will be closed when they are breaching the current dam, from approximately mid-September through Thanksgiving. The entrance will be open again after the current dam is breached, until construction of the new proposed dam would begin.

As currently planned by the PADEP, there will be barricades on both sides of the dam at 3rd Street – there would be no access for pedestrians or bikers until the proposed new dam is completed. As it is likely 2 years until construction begins, it could mean 3 years without access to cross Broomall’s Run at 3rd Street. Friends of Glen Providence Park has inquired with PADEP and Media Borough Council about constructing a footbridge to cross Broomall’s Run over the lowered dam. We will continue to advocate for a footbridge to allow pedestrian and bike access, keeping the Upper Providence and Media Borough communities connected.

Safety

According to the PADEP, if the partially breached dam fails, sediment would “slowly ooze” – there should not be danger to those in park. In addition, the partially removed dam will have a wider (more stable) base than the current one. The partially breached dam will be classified as C4, meaning there would be no potential loss of life or “public convenience” (road/traffic).   

Public notice & public meeting

We asked the PADEP to post signs well in advance of construction advising of the 3rd Street closure and park entrance closure. We also requested a public meeting with the PADEP about the partial dam breach process, similar to the Dam Safety Workshop we hosted in August 2012, so the community can be fully informed and have their questions about the breach process addressed.  

Emergency Action Plan signatures

It is our understanding that there are still no signatures on the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the proposed new dam, which is required to obtain a dam permit. The PADEP indicated, “There will be no authorization to build [a new dam] until there are signatures.” In July 2015, Media Borough Council passed a resolution that they would not sign the EAP for the proposed dam. As owners and operators of the proposed new dam under the Stipulation Agreement, it is expected that Delaware County and Broomall’s Lake Country Club would sign it.

You can read about and see pictures of the proposed 1.1 acre construction area for the proposed new dam, including the approximately 2/3 acre of Glen Providence Park that would be buried under earthfill, in our 1.1 Acre Photojournal.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

Click on the green link to view the PDF of the PADEP’s preliminary partial breach plans, or view the images below:

The PADEP communicated their intention to breach the dam at a meeting on Wednesday, October 14 between representatives of Delaware County, Media Borough, Broomall’s Lake Country Club, and the PADEP. That meeting was to resolve issues surrounding who would sign as owner(s) for the Emergency Action Plan(s) for Broomall’s Dam, which is to plan for public safety in the event of an accidental dam failure. The meeting was also to address other responsibilities surrounding the operation and maintenance of Broomall’s Dam.

As we previously reported, Media Borough voted in July not to sign the EAP as owner. Hall reported tonight that there is “still some wordsmithing about responsibilities under the EAP,” the “terms are not worked out,” and “no one has set ink to paper” to sign as owner.

According to Hall, while the dam is temporarily breached, there will be no foot traffic across Broomall’s Run to and from Upper Providence. There might also be restrictions in the north end of Glen Providence Park. This may last a few years, until construction of the new dam is complete – and according to an update from Schnabel Engineering this April, construction on the new dam would likely begin in 2017 or 2018.

We would like to learn more about this project, including environmental impacts to Glen Providence Park and Broomall’s Run, whether there will be access to Glen Providence Park from the entrance at 3rd & West Streets, and whether there is any way to create access for pedestrians to cross to and from Upper Providence. As we learn the answers to these questions, we will post updates.

You can read about and see pictures of the proposed 1.1 acre construction area for the new dam, including the approximately 2/3 acre of Glen Providence Park that would be buried under earthfill, in our 1.1 Acre Photojournal.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

The EAP is a formal document that describes procedures to minimize the risk of loss of life and property damage when potential emergency conditions threaten a High Hazard Potential Category 1, 2 or 3 dam. PA DEP has identified Broomall’s Dam as a Category 2 High Hazard dam.  The Dam Safety and Waterway Management Act (Subchapter B 105.34)  states that the owner(s) of a high hazard dam must sign the ownership line of the document.  A properly signed and executed EAP is required for the PA DEP to issue a dam construction permit.

The ownership of the dam has been the subject of legal dispute between Broomall’s Lake Country Club, Delaware County, and Media Borough since 2006, following decades of inaction to repair or replace the dam, due to ongoing ownership questions since Broomall’s Dam was declared unsafe by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1980.

The 2011 Stipulation and Order signed by all three parties assigned tasks and responsibilities regarding the construction and maintenance of the proposed replacement dam and roadway on top of the dam. However, the Stipulation and Order did NOT resolve the issue of ownership.

While Media Borough Council has clarified that it will not sign the ownership line of the EAP, there have been no public statements or documents released by Broomall’s Lake Country Club or Delaware County that indicate if one or both of those parties will sign the ownership line of the EAP.

Media Borough Council also authorized the Borough to sign the dam construction permit application at the July 16th meeting, while adding an addendum that stated that signing the permit did not constitute any claim of ownership of Broomall’s Dam by the Borough.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

You can read the one-page Order by Judge Proud. We will report more as we learn about any further legal aspects to this case, and about the timing of the proposed dam replacement project.

You can read about the proposed construction area for the new dam, including the approximately 2/3 acre of Glen Providence Park that would be buried under earthfill, in our 1.1 Acre Photojournal.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

The hearing was 3.5 hours, with witnesses called to testify primarily on the narrow issue of what the parties intended when they signed the Stipulation Agreement to “reestablish the West Third Street roadway,” and whether there was a delay in design of the project caused by Borough Council. Witnesses included a BLCC president, Borough Council members, and an engineer.

Judge Proud requested written submissions from each party by Friday, June 6. Each party will have until Friday, June 13 to reply to each other’s responses. Then Judge Proud will rule on the Petition for Contempt.

Throughout the hearing and again at the end, Judge Proud stated that his decision on the Petition for Contempt will do nothing to address the underlying substance of the case or to resolve the fundamental lack of agreement between the parties. He said the Stipulation Agreement as written was meant to move the project forward without resolving the “imponderable” questions of ownership of an over-hundred year old dam. Judge Proud wants parties to think about “where we go from here” regardless of his decision on the Petition for Contempt. He requested legal research submissions not just on the Petition for Contempt, but on where to go for a solution of the underlying issues and to move the project forward.

There were more aspects of this complicated legal case covered during the 3.5 hour hearing, including the disrepair of the dam and correspondence from the PA Department of Environmental Protection. There were two reporters present, so we expect more detailed coverage of the hearing.

As mentioned this week in a Delaware County Times article, in September 2012, Media Borough Council had voted to move forward with the design of a new dam to include a one-way eastbound road (with width to accommodate two lanes). This was after a 15-month public participation process involving at least 4 public meetings, a public survey, and extensive work by a Citizen Advisory Committee.

In response, BLCC filed a Petition for Contempt in October 2012, after which Judge Proud revoked the Stipulation Agreement in February 2013. The Commonwealth Court reinstated the Stipulation Agreement in December 2013, remanding the case to Proud’s jurisdiction. The May 9 hearing will be 20 months since the Petition for Contempt was filed, halting further progress.

Broomall’s Dam Safety: There is a gas line running through Broomall’s Dam, which would pose a public and environmental threat if the dam were to fail. After we asked the PA Department of Environmental Protections (PA DEP) about this in January, the PA DEP contacted PECO. This week, PECO has been working to install a safety valve for the gas line, so that it can be shut off in case of an emergency with the dam.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive bridge between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

Previously, a January 13, 2014 letter from Pennsylvania DEP (PA DEP) mailed to BLCC and addressed “Dear Dam Owner” included an updated dam registration and permit fee schedule. The water level of Broomall’s Lake has remained high since July 2013, contrary to PA DEP’s instructions to keep it lowered for public safety.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive connection between Media Borough and Upper Providence.

You can read the January DEP letter here: DEP letter to BLCC 1-13-2014

The ruling did not address whether there is a requirement for a two-way road, it simply indicated that a decision on BLCC’s Petition for Contempt and/or an interpretation of the Stipulation Agreement regarding road design and use would not be made in Commonwealth Court, but rather in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park continues to support dam removal, stream restoration and a local discussion of an environmentally-sensitive connection.

You can read the complete ruling in this pdf: 12-9-2013 Commonwealth Ruling on 3rd Street litigation