Media Borough is again seeking public input about the Broomall’s Dam/Third Street Project. If built, a new dam would have a devastating impact to the northern end of Glen Providence Park.

Recognizing the threat of this project to its county-owned park, Delaware County Council has declined to sign a PennDOT environmental document stating that the project would have “no adverse impact” to Glen Providence Park. In addition, neither the County, the Borough, nor Broomall’s Lake Country Club has agreed to sign as owner of the dam to get a PA DEP permit to build it. As a result, the project is on hold, and its outcome is uncertain.

Media Borough’s Open Space, Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee will be launching a public survey online, seeking input on priorities, facilities, programs, and budget allocation.

Two of the questions will be about Broomall’s Dam, which was partially removed by the PA DEP in 2017:

1. Whether there should be a new dam — or a bridge over a restored stream — at Third Street
2. What type of roadway should connect Media and Upper Providence

The questions are labeled under “Third Street Dam” in Section Three of the survey, “Programs & Facilities. ” The link to the survey will be going live the week of December 21 and will remain active through February: http://metroquestsurvey.com/xe5n5d The survey itself is space-restricted, and gives minimal information. As anyone who has been following this project knows, the legal case and underlying issues are complex.

Some important points:

• A new dam is not necessary for a roadway. A bridge could instead reconnect Media and Upper Providence, and would be drastically less damaging to Glen Providence Park than a dam. We believe there should be community input into whether that is a one-way, two-way, or pedestrian and bike roadway.

• While a new dam would again retain water, it would not fully restore Broomall’s Lake. The lake had filled with sediment since it was formed by Broomall’s Dam in 1883, diminishing from a depth of 30-40 feet to an estimated 8 feet. Expensive dredging would be needed to restore the lake. The past president of Broomall’s Lake Country Club stated at a public meeting that the Club would sue Media Borough to pay for that dredging after the dam is built.

• The new dam would, however, destroy the northern end of Glen Providence Park. According to a site visit with the engineer who designed the dam, earthfill to create the new, larger dam would bury the northern end of the park. The new dam would extend over 70′ farther downstream than the previous dam, filling in wetlands and natural springs, and encasing the waterfall and stream in concrete, including – and past – the masonry footer from one of the park’s original footbridges. The construction area would be larger than an acre, with more than 70 mature trees removed. For dam safety reasons, the massive new dam slope, and a 10’ perimeter past it, could not be replanted with anything but closely mowed grass. What is currently a serene, wooded entrance to the park would look like a highway exit berm.

• The new dam would be classified as a high hazard dam. Under legal definitions, this classification is due to the potential loss of life and property at the homes downstream of the park, in the event of a dam breach. This does not even take into consideration the danger to anyone using the park. With “100 year” weather events happening with increased frequency, we take this threat seriously.

Friends of Glen Providence Park organized in July 2011 in response to the threat to Glen Providence from the proposed dam, and we have continued to advocate to minimize the project’s damage to the park’s wetlands, wildlife, and plants. You can see photos of the section of the park that would be destroyed on our website in our 1.1 Acre Project.

To minimize destruction to the park, 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.

For more information, explore the Third Street Project overview and the many Dam/Bridge articles on our website.

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

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.

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

Posted by DEP in June 2013, disappeared in July 2013. Click for a closer view to read it.

Notice of Action

After siphoning the lake, the DEP posted this notice explaining that the water level was lowered because the dam “is in unsafe condition.” It also explains that “any intentional vandalism, obstruction, or tampering with this drawdown system” is punishable “by fines of up to $1,000 per offense and/or imprisonment for up to 60 days.” Sometime in early July, this sign disappeared.

Visual barrier

This visual barrier was installed by BLCC on July 19

On July 19, for unknown reasons, BLCC put up a visual barrier of black sheeting along the fence, which blocked the view of the lake from the road.

Water level

By July 24, the lake had returned to full level, with water coming over the spillway- and it has remained at full level since. When the lake is drawn down, the water should only come through the pipe. When the water comes over the spillway, the lake water level is too high.

The lake was back to full level by July 24, with water coming over the spillway.

DEP response to raised water level

On July 26, the DEP wrote BLCC advising that “The lake has returned to its full capacity with water coming over the spillway. With the unsafe condition of the dam, this situation is unacceptable.” BLCC was instructed to keep the water as low as possible: “Maintaining the conduit in a free flowing state is the responsibility of BLCC… DEP requests BLCC to take active control of the lake and maintain the drawdown as much as possible at all times.”

The DEP set a November 1 deadline for a plan to rehabilitate or remove the dam: “DEP is preparing to breach the dam utilizing Commonwealth resources, as authorized by 25 Pa. Code § 105.62, unless we receive a satisfactory plan for prompt rehabilitation or removal of the dam by November 1, 2013.”  

November 1 deadline…

That November 1 deadline has passed, and to our knowledge there has been no plan presented to rehabilitate the dam. As previously reported, we await a decision from the Commonwealth Court on the underlying Third Street litigation– and that litigation has stopped forward progress on the project design. The DEP Division of Dam Safety will have to determine how to proceed to address both the high water level of Broomall’s Lake and the unsafe condition of this high hazard dam.
 

You can read each of the letters from the DEP requesting that the water level be lowered:

– December 23, 2009
– March 28, 2012
– July 2, 2012
– May 10, 2013
– July 26, 2013

You can see the Google Earth images we posted in June, comparing the lake when drawn down in 2010 to the lake at full level in 2011.

We continued to visit Glen Providence Park’s 1.1 Acre construction area for Broomall’s Dam during the hot and unusually(!) wet summer- it broke the 2011 record for Philadelphia’s rainiest summer on record! All that rain made the plants in the park particularly lush, as you can see in the 1.1 Acre Vista photos below.

The native plants transformed, as many started producing berries. And we will have to track down some more experts to help us identify the park’s interesting array of insects and fungi! From fallen Tuliptree flowers and Wild Ginger to golden spiders and iridescent blue damselflies, there was always something to discover in the 1.1 Acre.

We were initially relieved to see the PA Department of Environmental Protection lower the water level at Broomall’s Lake, reducing the risk to the 1.1 Acre if Broomall’s Lake Dam (immediately upstream of the park) were to suddenly fail. However, by mid-July, the lake level had again risen to full capacity.

For an explanation of the 1.1 Acre and its boundary, see our introduction to the 1.1 Acre Project.

You can scroll through our chronological pictures below, and you can also view them on our flickr page! You can see more pictures of Glen Providence Park in our facebook albums and in our photojournal.

December 2020 update: We will be updating our website to enable our Flickr galleries to again display here. Until then, you can view our Summer 1.1 Acre photos on Flickr. 

[AFG_gallery id=’10’]

Broomall’s Dam on Third Street is often called a “bridge.” In fact, it is a high hazard dam with a road on top of it. Some people focus exclusively on reopening the road while ignoring the economic, environmental, and public safety consequences of replacing and maintaining a high hazard dam.

Replacing Broomall’s Dam is:

• UNSAFE
A newly constructed dam will be classified as “Level 1 High Hazard.” This classification has nothing to do with the dam’s condition. It means that dam failure could result in the loss of human life and extensive property damage.

No matter how much care is taken during construction, a 29 foot tall earthen dam has inherent risks. Do we really want a high hazard dam above a public park where our neighbors, children and families will be at risk?

• UNNECESSARY
Most taxpayer funded dams are built for a compelling public purpose such as producing electricity, storing a large volume of drinking water, or providing public recreation. Replacing Broomall’s Lake dam will provide NO public benefit at all.

• UNFAIR
Supporters of replacing Broomall’s Dam want to spend up to $4 million of taxpayers’ money to preserve a small lake for a private Country Club. At the same time, replacing the dam will permanently damage a section of a public park and a stream. Spending public dollars for private gain and public loss is unfair.

Removing the dam would settle these issues once and for all, replacing a burden with a gift for future generations.

Friends of Glen Providence Park wants our public officials to:

• REMOVE the dam
The leadership of the Friends of Glen Providence Park is calling to remove – rather than replace – Broomall’s Dam. Removing the dam will preserve valuable natural wetlands and allow for reforestation of the north section of the park.

Across Pennsylvania and the United States, dams are being removed and streams are being restored as an economic and environmental best practice. Removing the dam is the best economic, environmental, and public safety policy.

• RESTORE the stream
Before Judge Broomall built a dam on his property in 1883, the stream of Broomall’s Run flowed unimpeded to Ridley Creek.

Removing the dam will restore Broomall’s Run to its natural state, allowing for improved water quality, greater connectivity for wildlife, and healthy sediment flow.

The restored stream will descend 29 feet in a series of natural waterfalls, creating a babbling brook surrounded by trees – a beautiful setting for both the park and the Country Club.

• RECONNECT neighbors
We don’t need to replace the dam to connect Media and Upper Providence; we can remove the dam and build a bridge for that purpose.

Friends of Glen Providence Park supports an environmentally sensitive design that connects the two municipalities and encourages a community dialogue about bridge options.

This is the text of the flyers that Friends of Glen Providence Park distributed around Media Borough in the summer of 2013. For the text of the dam removal flyer we distributed in winter 2012, click here. 

Learn more about:

Broomall’s Dam history and news on our website, using the Categories, Tags and Search feature to the right, and menu bar above, for information including:
– Our position on dam removal
– Documentation of the 1.1 Acre of park that would be destroyed by dam replacement

Dam removal locally and nationally at www.americanrivers.org

The Third Street Project on the Media Borough website: www.mediaborough.org/publicworks

Here is an overview of the lake level since the first 2009 request, and links to each of the PA DEP letters.

Water level lowered in 2010

Broomall’s Lake with lowered water level, exposing yards of shoreline on the North and East banks, on Google Earth April 11, 2010

In a letter dated December 23, 2009, the PA DEP directed Broomall’s Lake Country Club (BLCC), the operator of the dam, to have the lake in “drawdown” at all times, which means that the drain pipe (or conduit) is open at all times.

Stating that “a project planned for the future does nothing for public safety now”, the PA DEP said, “because of the increasing risk to public safety posed by Broomall’s Lake Dam in its present condition, it is imperative that all parties associated with the dam cooperate to minimize the risk as much as possible while the legal issues and project plans are finalized.”

After this letter was sent, the lake level was drastically lowered and remained lowered through most of 2010, as shown in this April 11, 2010 image from Google Earth. You can click on the photograph for a larger image.

Water level raised since 2011

Broomall’s Lake with water level raised again, on Google Earth  October 7, 2011

However, by the summer of 2011, the lake level had been drastically raised, as it still was in this October 7, 2011 image from Google Earth.

Subsequently, in a letter dated March 28, 2012, the PA DEP reminded BLCC of the December 2009 letter, stating that the “water level is to remain lowered as much as possible at all times“ (bold and underlined by the PA DEP), going on to state, “As you know, this dam is in very poor condition and is actually considered to be an “Unsafe” structure.”

The level of Broomall’s Lake was not re-lowered, and a July 2, 2012 letter sent by the PA DEP to Media Borough, BLCC and Delaware County reiterated, “Until the dam safety issues have been addressed at this dam, the water level is to remain lowered…”

Waterfall & Spillway

Broomall’s Dam in “drawdown”, with water flowing only through the outlet pipe, when the lake level was lowered in April 2010

Upon inspection on the day of our Dam Safety Workshop in August 2012, Richard Reisinger of the PA DEP confirmed that the lake was not in drawdown, and therefore not in compliance, since there was water coming over the top of the spillway (the top of the waterfall). 

The PA DEP has explained that water should not come over the spillway, but only through the pipe. However, water has consistently flowed over the spillway since at least the summer of 2012, showing a lack of compliance with the PA DEP’s requests.

Compare the photograph on the right of the waterfall in compliance in April 2010, to the photograph below it of the waterfall out of compliance in November 2012.

Safety Today

Broomall’s Dam in violation of the PA DEP requests, with water flowing over the spillway, in November 2012

The persistent unsafe condition of the dam has ultimately led to the PA DEP’s intervention today. Further, the PA DEP declared in a May 10, 2013 letter that it intends to breach (remove) Broomall’s Dam if no progress is made by November 1, 2013 to replace or remove the dam.

While the PA DEP correspondence repeatedly refers to the danger to the homes along Ridley Creek Road, downstream of Broomall’s Dam, Glen Providence Park lies between the dam and those homes. The park, its plants and wildlife, and anyone in the valley of the park at the time of a sudden dam failure would be at risk. The failure to keep the lake level drawn down as much as possible increases the danger to lives, the park, and the homes downstream.

If you witness water flowing over the top of the waterfall (the spillway), please report this violation to the PA DEP by calling Roger Adams, Chief, Division of Dam Safety at 717-772-5951.

You can read each of the referenced letters from the PA DEP:
December 23, 2009
March 28, 2012
July 2, 2012
May 10, 2013

And you can read more about safety issues with the dam in our August 2012 Dam Safety Workshop with the PA DEP.

On May 10, 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) sent a letter to Media Borough reporting that the condition of Broomall’s Lake Dam at Third Street “continues to deteriorate” and that the agency planned to take action on June 12, 2013 to “correct an unsafe condition.”

PA DEP announced that it planned to drawdown the impoundment by siphoning Broomall’s Lake.  PA DEP also stated that it had made repeated requests to Broomall’s Lake Country Club (BLCC), which it named the owner of record, to maintain drawdown of the lake to ensure dam safety.  However, BLCC had informed PA DEP that it felt that dam safety was the responsibility of other parties.

Noting the status of legal responsibility for the dam continued to be disputed by BLCC, Delaware County, and Media Borough, the PA DEP declared that it intended to breach (remove) the dam if no progress was made to replace or remove the dam by November 1, 2013.

Earlier this year, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge James Proud revoked the 2011 Stipulation Agreement between Media Borough, Broomall’s Lake Country Club, and Delaware County regarding the Dam/Bridge at Third Street in Media.  With the Stipulation Agreement revoked, Media Borough is no longer legally obligated to replace a high hazard dam that will damage 1.1 acres during construction, permanently bury .64 acres of park land under earth fill, destroy valuable natural wetlands, and preclude reforestation of the north section of the park.

The leadership of the Friends of Glen Providence Park believes that Judge Proud’s decision to revoke the Stipulation Agreement and PA DEP’s declaration of its intent to remove the dam – if no party assumes ownership and responsibility for dam safety – presents an opportunity for achieving the best outcomes for public safety and environmental protection.

From the first time that the engineers’ plans for the Third Street project were presented to the public in the summer of 2011, many residents in Media and surrounding communities expressed serious concerns about the environmental and recreational impact of the project on the County’s historic Glen Providence Park.

In fact, over 500 residents from Media Borough and nearly 300 residents from other municipalities signed a petition favoring a pedestrian and bicycle-only greenway at Third Street. Additionally, a Media Borough Council-sponsored public opinion survey of over 600 Media residents and business owners indicated strong support for dam removal and stream restoration. Local election results also suggest that Media Borough voters have not been persuaded by a “put it back the way it was” argument.

Across Pennsylvania and the United States, dams on streams and rivers are being removed rather than replaced unless there is a compelling public benefit.  Spending nearly $4 million dollars of tax payers’ funds on replacing Broomall’s Lake Dam will not produce electricity, provide drinking water, or preserve a public recreation site.  The only purpose of this project is to preserve a private lake for a private Country Club.  We don’t believe that is a compelling enough reason to damage a section of a public park.

In order to protect the public park, the leadership of the Friends of Glen Providence Park is reiterating its call for dam removal and stream restoration.  We also support exploration of how to create an environmentally sensitive connection between Media and Upper Providence. In order to protect public safety, we oppose any agreement or legal action that fails to resolve the core issue of ownership of the high hazard dam.  If no party is willing to accept ownership of a high hazard dam, then millions of dollars of tax payers’ funds should not be risked to build one in our community.

You can read the May 10, 2013 letter from the PA DEP in its entirety here. 

Prior to this ruling, on September 20, 2012, Media Borough Council had approved a plan to replace the dam and construct a roadway that provided one lane for pedestrians and bicycles and one lane for automobiles with one-way traffic from Upper Providence into Media.  The plan also allowed for Emergency vehicles to have two-way access to serve both Media and Upper Providence. BLCC then filed a Petition for Contempt that sought a ruling from Judge Proud to force the Borough to construct a roadway with two lanes for two-way automobile traffic.  Instead, the Judge ruled that the Stipulation was “based entirely on the agreement of the Parties” and that such agreement did not in fact exist.  BLCC’s challenge to the basis of the agreement caused Judge Proud to revoke his previous Order.*

With the Stipulation Agreement revoked, Media Borough is no longer legally obligated to replace a high hazard dam that will destroy 1.1 acres of park land including valuable natural wetlands, permanently bury over ½ acre of park land under earthfill, and preclude reforestation of the north section of the park.  Across Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and the United States, dams on streams and rivers are being removed rather than replaced unless there is a compelling public benefit.  Spending nearly $4 million dollars of tax payers’ funds on replacing Broomall’s Lake Dam will not produce electricity, provide drinking water, or preserve a public recreation site.  The only purpose of this project is to preserve a private lake for a Country Club.  We don’t believe that is a compelling enough reason to damage a section of a historical public park.

From the first time that the engineer’s plans for the Third Street project were presented to the public in the summer of 2011, many residents in Media and surrounding communities expressed serious concerns about the environmental and recreational impact of the project on the County’s historic Glen Providence Park.  In fact, over 500 residents from Media Borough and nearly 300 residents from other municipalities signed a petition favoring a pedestrian and bicycle-only greenway at Third Street. Additionally, a Media Borough Council-sponsored public opinion survey of over 600 Media residents and business owners indicated strong support for dam removal and stream restoration.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park vigorously advocated for the positions of dam removal and stream restoration and building a greenway during the months leading up to the decisive vote by Media Borough Council on May 17, 2012.  Citing a legal obligation to abide by the 2011 Stipulation Agreement, Borough Council voted 5-2 to replace the dam and reestablish a roadway for vehicular traffic. Accepting that Borough Council was legally bound by the Stipulation Agreement, the Friends of Glen Providence Park eventually supported the compromise of replacing the dam and building one-lane, one-way roadway for automobile traffic as a good-faith effort to limit the environmental impact of the project.  However, BLCC rejected this compromise and filed a Petition for Contempt against Media Borough.  As a result, the Stipulation Agreement was revoked and all parties have been forced to reconsider their positions.

In order to protect the public park, the leadership of the Friends of Glen Providence Park is again calling for dam removal and stream restoration.  We also support exploration of how to create an environmentally sensitive connection between Media and Upper Providence. In order to protect public safety, we oppose any agreement or legal action that fails to resolve the core issue of ownership of the high hazard dam.  If no party is willing to accept ownership of a high hazard dam, then millions of dollars of tax payers’ funds should not be risked to build one in our community.

* It is our understanding that Judge Proud has not ruled on a motion filed by BLCC to reconsider his decision, and in March, BLCC filed an Appeal in Commonwealth Court.