Pine Grove Floodplain Restoration

Location
Pine Grove, Pennsylvania – 9th Congressional District

On September 8, 2011, Tropical Storm Lee produced over 15 inches of rainfall in the 120 square mile Upper Swatara Creek watershed. The north end of Pine Grove Borough is where the most severe flooding impacts the town, 180 residential dwellings, numerous commercial businesses, and the town’s largest employer (Guilford Mills with over 300 employees) were severely impacted. Guillford Mills had 36 inches of water inside it’s facility.

The project utilized approximately 50 acres of open land on the east side of the Swatara Creek to develop a naturalized floodplain area that would alleviate the majority of flooding on the west side of the creek. In the process, the elevation of the land on the east side of the creek was four to five feet, wetlands restored and roads and utilities relocated.

By changing the elevation of land around the creek and creating more wetlands, the water from the Swatara Creek is able to be diverted away from the Borough, lessening the amount of water that could potentially damage houses and businesses. The Pine Grove Floodplain restoration project has provided Guillford Mills the ability to continue employing over 300 people.

Project is complete and came in under budget. There are additional pinch points down stream that will be addressed with a Phase II using additional CDBG-DR funds and PA State Growing Greener grant funds.

Funding
Community Development Block Grant -Disaster Recovery: $2,567,032.00
Pennsylvania State Dept. of Environmental Protection Growing Greener grant: $500,000.00
Total: $3,067,032.00

Partners
PA Department of Communty and Economic Development
PA Department of Environmental Protection
Schuylkill County Conservation District
Schuylkill County Commissioners
Pine Grove Borough Council

Contact
Donna Enrico
PA Department of Community and Economic Development
(717) 720-7343
[email protected]