The decision, which was announced last night at their June 15th meeting, followed a review of cost estimates, consultation with first responders and in-house professionals, and previous community surveys. Borough Council will work with state agencies, representatives of Delaware County and Broomall’s Lake Country Club to develop a preliminary design all can agree on. The public will be invited to comment following the presentation of the design which may take up to 24 months.

Borough Council will additionally seek the services of an environmental professional to advise on the restoration of Broomall’s Run stream, particularly the methods used to slow the stream following the removal of the remnants of the dam. Friends of Glen Providence Park and Media Borough’s own Environmental Advisory Council had requested this independent environmental review. Friends of Glen Providence Park believes a streamside forest buffer may be the most natural and cost-effective solution.

While the road ahead has many considerations, Friends of Glen Providence Park applauds this decision for an environmentally-sensitive connection between Media and Upper Providence. We still believe a participatory process with the public will help this pedestrian-bicycle bridge fit the vision of the Media-UP community and become a celebrated success.

Background:

• History of the Third Street dam/bridge
• Roads have significant negative environmental and human health impacts
• Building more roads to ease traffic has the opposite effect within 5 years
• Green spaces and green gathering areas increase human mental and physical health, strengthen communities and benefit the other-than-human environment, while boosting economic activity and increasing home values
• Environmentally-sensitive growth is supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency, who terms it “Smart Growth” and has a national initiative

Friends of Glen Providence Park welcomes the finalized conservation easement agreement between Delaware County and Broomall’s Lake Country Club. 

With the replacement of the dam and two lane roadway no longer required, Media Borough and Upper Providence residents are free to pursue a 21st century connection between the two communities.

Research suggests a pedestrian/bicycle greenway would have the least negative impact on the park’s ecosystem and would provide the safest access for park users. 

Friends of Glen Providence Park looks forward to participating in the site development plans and are asking for assurances that future construction and management of the area meet regulatory requirements, as well as best environmental practices. 

This includes obtaining the services of a professional team most able to restore and protect Broomall’s Run and to collaborate with the County’s efforts in the adjacent conservation area. 

March 2023

Research suggests a pedestrian/bicycle greenway would have the least negative impact on the park’s ecosystem and would provide the safest access for park users. 

Several Friends of Glen Providence Park citizen scientists recently gathered in the park to test a water sample for a number of factors which indicate stream health.

Broomall’s Run, a tributary of Ridley Creek, enters the park at Third Street and exits close to Baltimore Pike. Until recently the stream was dammed, creating an artificial lake on the Broomall’s Lake Country Club property adjacent to the park. Part of the stream is currently directed through a manmade pond within the park.

The water collected was tested on-site for temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, pH, phosphates and turbidity. Future testing will include coliform bacteria and macroinvertebrates.

The Friends of Glen Providence Park hope to understand how the stream compares with other water sources in the Commonwealth. In addition, area residents are curious about the impact of stormwater runoff which can also be impacted by pesticide and herbicide use in developed areas of the Borough.

The nonprofit organization, created to preserve and enhance the county’s first public park, is planning to continue periodic testing in various areas of the stream. Additional volunteers are welcome – please email us at FriendsoftheGlen [at] gmail [dot] com if you’re interested!

You have likely noticed the seemingly whimsical stacks of rocks along the stream in Glen Providence Park. People have also been moving rocks in the stream to dam and redirect sections, and presumably to make it easier to cross on foot. We believe these activities are well-intentioned, but moving rocks in and around the stream has unintended negative consequences. 

First, it is harmful to wildlife

To quote Ben Lorson, of the PA Fish and Boat Commission’s Habitat Division, “A stream’s bottom — the substrate — has its own micro-habitats. The substrate provides the base of the aquatic food chain — from algae to macro-invertebrates all the way up to game fish. The surfaces of the rocks and the cracks and crevices between them are very important as habitat…”  

And from ausableriver.org: “Salamanders and crayfish also make their homes under rocks, and rock moving can destroy their homes, and even lead to direct mortality of these creatures. Every single rock is potentially a home to the larval stages of aquatic insects, including dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, and many others. They cling to rocks and capture drifting food particles. By moving and stacking rocks, the insects that are attached to or living on the rocks can be desiccated and burned by the sun.”

It is also causing erosion

Much of the rock-moving that has occurred has directed water outwards towards the streambanks, where it is worsening the already severe erosion. Large trees have been undercut by the stream and fallen. Over the years, our Friday morning Conservation Crew has worked to remove log jams in the stream — this is important to direct water away from the streambanks. Constructing dams, redirections, and crossings in the stream has the opposite, negative effect — it directs water to the sides, towards the already-severely-eroded streambanks. 

The County is looking at long-term solutions for the pond and stream to address the ongoing erosion and other issues, but it will take several years before large-scale solutions can be implemented. Until then, it is especially important that the water flow towards the center of the stream and away from the streambanks to minimize the already severe erosion.

We discourage any moving of rocks in or around the stream, without first consulting with Delaware County Parks & Recreation and/or the Delaware County Conservation District. 

Chris’ “10 Things” to do with kids in the park, and links, in no particular order:

1. Hiking
2. Leaf packs: https://leafpacknetwork.org/ (& check out the video of Chris explaining this in the snowy stream!)
3. Birding: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/
4. Tracking, casting animal tracks: instructables.com/How-to-make-a-plaster-cast-of-an-animal-track/
5. Pressing leaves
6. Bark rubbing: kaplanco.com/ii/tree-rubbings
7. Phenology: https://www.usanpn.org/about/why-phenology
8. Geology, collect rocks
9. Brush your teeth with Spicebush: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=libe3
10. Make pine needle tea: https://www.wildedible.com/pine-needle-tea-natural-vitamin-c

Nature Scavenger Hunt!

Look for or collect:

• a wild edible
• evidence of the presence of animals
• something that is the same color as your shoes
• 3 different types of seeds—1 that is dispersed by the wind
• a wild bird feather
• something smooth
• a twig shaped like the letter Y
• find and identify a tree that still has its leaves
• something surprising or unexpected
• exactly 10 of something
• something that starts with the first letter of your name
• something fuzzy
• one camouflaged animal or insect
• something with a pleasant scent
• 5 pieces of man-made litter
• something that reminds you of yourself
• something that makes a noise
• something for every color of the rainbow
• evidence of the presence of people
• 4 leaves of different shapes
• a spider web
• something that is squishy
• an unusual shape
• something with a hole in it
• a mushroom or fungus

Have fun in the park!

Thank you very much to Chris McNichol for leading the walk, to Chris Dietrich for filming the leaf pack explanation, and to all who attended on a cold winter morning! More photos of the walk are on Facebook…

Come explore the life in and around the stream in Glen Providence Park! Science teachers Holly Hoffmann and Aura Lester will lead kids as they look for critters in the park. Recommended for nature explorers ages 5 and up! Registration is required – attendance is limited to 30 participants*, including adults. Don’t forget to wear sturdy water shoes or boots!

Stream Walk for Kids

Saturday, June 16
10:00-11:30am
Main entrance, West State Street, Media
Drizzle or shine!

* Registration is 1/2 full as of June 4! 

Logistics:

• Registration is required – attendance is limited to 30 participants, including adults. RSVP by emailing FriendsoftheGlen[AT]gmail.com by Thursday, June 14.
• Free!
• Approximate length: 1.5 hours
• Be prepared for hilly terrain and walking in the stream – wear sturdy shoes or boots that can get wet!
• If the weather is questionable, we will post here and on facebook by 9:00am Saturday whether we will hold the walk.
• While we welcome leashed dogs to many of our park events, this time we will be looking for skittish turtles and other pond and stream life, so please leave those cuties at home.

We had an amazing turnout at our two cleanups this spring in Glen Providence Park! First, 27 volunteers removed 19 bags of trash at our rain-dated Early Spring Cleanup on March 25. Holding a cleanup early in the season enables us to see and access trash that has blown into the woods, before the vegetation obscures it – our yield this year was 19 bags.

Despite the threat of rain, there was an even larger turnout for the 20th Annual CRC Streams Cleanup on Earth Day, April 22! An amazing group of 32 adults and 12 children, including Girl Scout Troop #516 from Media Elementary School, cleared trash and invasive plants from the trails and stream. Our yield was 16 bags, and assorted items including pipe sections, an old wagon, and a bed frame. It started to drizzle just as we were finishing.

Thank you to all of our fantastic volunteers, to Seven Stones Cafe for donating carafes of delicious coffee, and to CRC Watersheds for coordinating its 20th Annual Streams Cleanup – removing trash from 30 locations in the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creek watersheds!

Click on any photo for a closer look! Photos by George Tate, Marcia Tate, Holly Hoffmann, and Girl Scout Troop #516. 

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.

Since it was created by the WPA in 1936 for fishing and skating, the pond in Glen Providence Park has seen its fair share of fishing, from family outings to years of fishing contests! Early active involvement by the environmental organization Izaac Walton League gave way to activities led by other community groups, with fishing programs and rodeos for boys and girls, field trips, and fishing lessons. The pond was listed in the Fishing Directory of Delaware County, and was stocked with impressive quantities of fish for decades.  

Waders Beware!

Ten pairs of largemouth bass that were introduced as brood fish got the “rearing pond” off to a start a little more exciting than intended, as recounted in the August 1937 issue of Pennsylvania Angler magazine: “The bass were on the nests and everything was going lovely when a park authority gave Waltonian Phil Platt a hurry call on the ‘phone. It seems that a lad was wading or something like that and his foot came rather close to a bass over its nest. The fish struck so viciously that it drew blood.” Fortunately that did not deter hundreds of children from participating each year in the County’s fishing program!

Junior Fishing Project

There were fishing programs for children under 16 (the fishing license age) from at least 1940 to 1967, so that youths could “enjoy the pasttime of fishing.” In the County’s “Junior Fishing Project” in the 1940’s, each boy and girl would register at the park guard house: “Upon registration, the child is given a tag, and these tags, issued free of charge, permit the youngster to fish from May to October.” Fishing was permitted on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with daily catch limits, and a requirement that all hooks be barbless.

The fishing program was well organized by Delaware County Parks & Recreation – park guards tracked registrations, and the sizes and totals of  fish caught, with prizes awarded at the end of the season for the largest fish.  In the summer of 1941, “There were 282 registrations throughout the summer of children under 16 years of age. These youngsters proved themselves worthy Izaak Waltonians when a record of the total fish caught was received from Mr. Stokes, guard at Glen Providence Park, as follows: 662 sunfish, 19 perch, 4 bass.” A 17-pound bass was caught in 1940, and in 1945, “Stokes said catfish 10 to 12 inches long having been reported and carp up to 17 inches. Bass are running from 12 to 20 inches long.”

Stocking the pond

All this fishing was sustained by some impressive stocking of the pond with various fish through the years, often by the thousands. Perch, bass, sunfish, carp, catfish, and bullheads were stocked in the 1940’s; and blue gills, largemouth bass, and catfish in the 1960’s.

After stocking the pond with 4,000 catfish, bullheads, and carp in 1942, the County offered a recipe to make use of them: “Carp make good eating, too, park board authorities say. But, they warn, place six to eight potatoes in the same pan, smack up against the fish. Bake until done and then, above all things, discard the potatoes. That’s because the potatoes absorb the objectionable taste and odor. If the carp is prepared in this suggested manner, they say, the carp will easily pass for a fresh Spanish mackerel.”

As with most events and activities in the park’s past, different community organizations contributed to sustaining fishing through the years. In addition to Delaware County Parks & Recreation, those who stocked the pond included the Izaac Walton League in the early 1940’s, the Field and Stream Club in 1949, and Delco Anglers and Conservationists in the 1960’s. In 1950, 4,000 Bluegills were donated by the federal government! In 1963, the Media Jaycees, who were so involved in the park for years through running the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt and the July 4 Fireworks & Festivities, led a fishing expedition for children of Elwyn School: “17 boys caught 35 fish in the morning at Glen Providence Park.”

Fishing Rodeos

After forming as an organization in 1961, Delco Anglers and Conservationists were active in Glen Providence in the 1960’s. They transplanted over 200 Bluegills and 65 Largemouth bass into the pond in 1963. Then in 1965, they held a fishing rodeo for boys and girls up to 15 years old, with more than 100 contestants from 10 communities. Wonderfully, it was a four year old girl who caught more fish than any other contestant in the rodeo! Her well-deserved prize was “a spanking new rod and reed almost twice as tall as she is.”

The Delco Anglers held the “Annual Fishing Rodeo” for at least two more years. The most recent article I found specific to fishing in the park was from 1968, when Glen Providence was one of 4 locations where 2,500 catfish were released: “The whiskered gents have been released in four of the local lakes for your fishing pleasure.”

Fishing today

We don’t have records of fishing at the park in the 1970’s, but we know the pond had virtually dried up by the early 1980’s – when it was revitalized and restocked with frogs, as recounted in A WPA Pond. The pond was likely restocked with fish as well. There are also fish in Broomall’s Run, which feeds the pond, making that another source of fish. 

While there are no longer fishing programs or rodeos, fishing at the pond continues today. Two years ago we discovered fly fishing lessons in the park, run by Delco Manning Trout Unlimited and Sporting Gentleman – when it was located in Media Borough, 2 blocks from the park. We also come across individuals and families “enjoying the pastime of fishing.”

The fish mentioned throughout the newspaper articles are listed as: bass, Largemouth bass, sunfish, Bluegill (sunfish), perch, carp, catfish, and Bullhead (catfish). The fish we have photographed in the past 5 years are: Pumpkinseed and Bluegill sunfish, Bullhead catfish, Common carp, Largemouth bass, and unidentified minnows. If you have more to add to that, let us know – we’ll create a Park Fish List to add to our species lists of the park’s birds, trees, and reptiles & amphibians!

Do you have stories, memories, or photos from fishing in Glen Providence Park, or species to add to those listed? Please email us at FriendsoftheGlen [at] gmail [dot] com.

Read some more details from early articles, and see that four year old fishing champion(!) and photos of the park’s fish, in the gallery below. Sources listed after the gallery.

Sources:

Chester Times & Daily Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library.

Pennsylvania Angler Magazine:
Waders Beware!, August 1937
Successful Season at Junior Project, January 1941

Chester Times:
Thousands Enjoy Relief from Heat in County Parks, July 25, 1940
County’s Park System Program, January 31, 1941
Sports Shorts, May 14, 1941
Fishing Project for Young Folks, May 29, 1941
4000 Fish for Lake in Park, September 2, 1942
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Glen Providence Fishing Contest To Start July 1, June 29, 1945
Glen Providence Park One of Scenic Spots in County, October 24, 1949
Glen Providence Gets 4000 Blue Gills, November 2, 1950
Glen Providence Is Interesting Spot, May 1, 1951???

Delaware County Daily Times:
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 19, 1963
Middletown Jaycees Aid Polio Clinic, October 9, 1963
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 2, 1965
Little Girl’s Fish Story Is No Fabulous Fiction, But Fact, September 18, 1965
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 15, 1966
Fishing Rodeo Is Scheduled, August 23, 1967
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, April 15, 1968

Additional sources cited in A WPA Pond.

Thank you to Brian Vadino of the Delaware County Conservation District, and Art at the pond, for their assistance with some of the fish ID’s.

One of the most beloved features of the Glen Providence Park is the man-made pond at its center – created 80 years ago for fishing and skating! Like the other original park structures and trails, it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era jobs program – which is part of what made the park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!

Creating a pond

Samuel L. Smedley envisioned the pond when he founded Glen Providence in 1935, and effusive Chester Times articles about the new park tracked the pond’s construction. Work had begun on the “lake” by April 1936: “Entering from the Third street end… From here the nature lover, following paths recently completed by the WPA will see springs, and a small lake in the course of completion.” The pond was “nearly completed” by August.

A 1937 article about Glen Providence described the new pond in detail: “The most outstanding object of interest is “Mirror Lake,” 400 feet long, 100 feet wide, irregular in outline, constructed near the middle of the property, and to the west of Broomall’s Run. The  water supply is by a by-pass, from Broomall’s Run… A second supply is from the larger spring [the historical drinking spring near Broomall’s Dam]… the water being carried through about 500 feet of pipe and liberated over an artificial cascade into the lake, making a very attractive feature.” That cascade would later be improved in 1948 by the Providence Garden Club as the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall – with her husband, Eleanor had donated the majority of the land for the park as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum.

Fishing, skating, ducks… and the Swamp Man!

True to its intended purpose, the pond was the site of years of fishing derbies for children in summer, and was regularly stocked with perch, bass, and sunfish. Enchantingly, there were lights around the pond for nighttime skating in winter! The pond also hosted a cast of feathered characters, with ducks and geese that were named by the park guards – and some of their antics made the newspapers!*

Any manmade body of water requires maintenance over time, and by the early 1980’s, the pond had virtually dried up. Under Recreation Supervisor Terry Smith, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held a “Sherlock Holmes Mystery Walk” in 1981 at the dried-up pond, which “won rejuvenation thanks to public awareness.” The pond was dredged, and in 1983 and 1984, “Great Bullfrog Releases” were held inviting volunteers “to help release bullfrogs into the park’s revitalized pond.”

The pond went on to play a role in the park’s “Halloween Hauntings” in the 1980’s –  we’ve heard from many people about the scary “Swamp Man” who hid in the pond (in scuba gear!), jumping out at passers-by!  

The pond today

While still full of wildlife including several species of turtles, fish, and frogs, the pond is again filling with sediment. Sometime since 1975, the pipes feeding the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall caved in, eliminating a source of water and aeration for the pond. A fountain was installed in the pond in the early 2000’s to help with aeration, but was ultimately vandalized. The pond’s shallowness, combined with insufficient aeration and inadequate vegetation around the pond, contribute to it being overgrown with algae in summers. 

There are potential upcoming changes to the pond as a result of the Broomall’s Dam replacement (now anticipated for 2018), including the possible creation of wetlands at one end of the pond. In any case, the pond will need dredging, stabilization of the intake and outlet, and planting of trees, shrubs, and appropriate native vegetation around, and in, the water to restore and preserve its ecosystem.

We hope that revitalization is successful, and that future generations are able to enjoy this WPA pond!   

*I’ll write more about the fishing derbies, illustrious ducks, and winter skating in future articles!

Click below to see the charming 1939 photos by local resident GJ Ulshafer showing what the new pond looked like, an undated postcard, and photos from 1944, 1959, and 2016. 

Early Spring pond panorama in 2016 – click for a closer view

Sources:

Chester Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library:

Chester Times:
Club Leaders See New County Park, November 1, 1935
New Park Rich in Trees, Birds, April 2, 1936
Parks Pilgrimage, June 6, 1936
Glen Providence Nature Oddity, August 8, 1936
Delaware County Park Board Makes Progress, February 8, 1937
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Swing Into Spring, April 10, 1959

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Whodunit? At Bottom, It’s a Plot to Help Delco Parks, September 18, 1981
A Great Bullfrog Release Nears – Volunteers Restocking Media Park Pond, June 19, 1984