Water supply bears watching

To the Editor:

I agree with Supervisors Carr and Helsel that we in Plumstead Township should be concerned about our water situation. I say this as I have lived here all my life, and I have seen a drastic change in the water supply in the township.

I was born and raised in the same house where my father was born and attended the same one-room school at Smith's Corner that he did. A few years ago, I took a walk around the Wismer area where I played as a child more than 70 years ago. None of the streams still exist where we used to play and swim except for Cabin Run, which is not nearly as free-flowing as it used to be.

Fifty-five years ago, when my husband and I built our house close to the homestead, we would swim in the lower branch of Geddes Run, which crosses our property. Nowadays, you can hardly get your feet wet in that stream. It used to be a popular fishing spot for the neighborhood kids. The fish are long gone. It was popular with kayakers. Haven't seen them for years.

The upper branch of Geddes Run was a very prolific stream with a dam at Union Creamery where we swam, fished and ice-skated. There was so much ice cut from the pond in winter and stored in saw dust in the icehouse that it supplied farmers with ice all summer. Now there is nothing there but a stagnant puddle of water.

When we drilled our well 55 years ago, most of the wells in the neighborhood overflowed. Many people built ponds to accommodate the excess water. We simply let ours flow into Geddes Run.

Five years ago when we had a drought, our shallow well pump could no longer reach the water. When I had a plumber install a deep well pump, I asked him to measure the amount of water in the well. In 50 years we had lost 50 feet of water in our 100-foot well. And this is in an undeveloped area. East Plumstead does not have any developments. Most of the homes surrounding us are on 10-acre lots.

A few years ago, when the Miller Quarry was being developed at Gardenville, we were told there would be no dust from the quarry, which planned to drill three wells, 600 feet deep, and wash all the crushed stone. And I suppose the water then got dumped into the north branch of the Neshaminy Creek and left our watershed. I was concerned, as I am on the same aquifer.

I hear of neighbors with dry wells going down 300 feet now. No more overflowing wells.

It would behoove our officials to study our water situation thoroughly before they decide to export more water from the township.

Florence Cook
Plumstead Township