North Wales seeks grant for Ninth Street Park streambank work

A streambank restoration project in Ninth Street Park could help meet strict pollution requirements over the next five years, and council is seeking $300,000 in grant money to help pay for it.

“Every other year, there are grant opportunities, and this is one of them,” said borough Manager Christine Hart.

On May 14, the manager gave an update on a new round of mandate issued by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection through 2028, in which the town will be required to submit to the state how they plan to remove 5,500 pounds per year of sediment from local waterways.

“We have a plan, we’ve been waiting for funding, it is quite an expensive project,” Hart said.

In early 2023 the borough received a grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to cover upgrades to Ninth Street Park, which is a roughly 2.2-acre parcel located between Ninth and Tenth streets just east of Church Street. The park currently features a gazebo, boardwalk and driveway running through a grassy area covered with trees, and a small stream runs east-west through the park and behind the neighboring homes — and during a visit after the May 14 council meeting, The Reporter spotted one of the borough’s famous foxes trotting through the park at dusk.

The 2023 plan called for upgrades including adding access ramps from the street to the trail, adding native plants to help absorb rainwater, and widening and resurfacing the path itself with absorbent material to reduce rainwater runoff, and at that time the town received roughly $108,000 from DCNR toward doing so.

Facing the new mandate, staff and the borough’s engineer have identified several ways to meet it in their pollutant reduction plan, Hart said. Street sweeping throughout the borough is estimated to remove 520 pounds of sediment per year, and inlet cleaning an additional 446 pounds per year, and both would have to be documented and submitted to the state.

The Ninth Street park plan could hit a much bigger number: The engineer estimates that streambank stabilization along roughly 150 feet of the street running through the park could remove as much as 6,700 pounds of sediment per year, with an additional 23 pounds per year possible by adding a bioretention area in the park, and 14 pounds per year more by adding pervious paving there.

“It’s probably one of the only viable projects that will enable us to meet that requirement over the next five years,” Hart said.

No firm estimate or plan has been developed yet for the streambank restoration project, according to the manager, but the borough’s engineer estimates a total price tag of $200,000 to $300,000, with a required borough match of 15 percent yielding a possible max expense of $45,000 if the full grant amount from DEP’s Growing Greener grant program is awarded.

Depending on the results of the grant application, part of the funds could be put toward planning and approval costs, the manager said, with additional grants possible for the actual construction of the streambank restoration measures in future years.

    Site plan showing current features and possible upgrades to Ninth Street Park in North Wales Borough.
  So far, about $7,800 has been spent on developing preliminary plans and the grant application, the manager added, and that amount could be put toward the match if the borough receives a grant award, Hart said; if the project ends up exceeding the town’s mandated sediment removal goal, any excess could be credited to the next permit cycle starting in 2028.

“Right now, what’s happening is a very fast erosion. Where we have the butterfly observation deck, we’ve already done repairs within the last three to four years, but it’s quickly eroding,” she said.

“If we were able to secure the streambank, it would help maintain the stream in the future, reducing the sediment that’s being taken out of there,” she said.

Councilwoman Wendy McClure asked if the engineer and staff had looked into where the headwaters of the stream begin, and if neighboring Upper Gwynedd would need to be involved. “We can make this repair, which is excellent, but what about up above? And all the soil and sediment that comes from the rush from the top of the hill” outside the borough’s borders, McClure said.

Hart answered that Upper Gwynedd has recently done similar sediment reduction projects at Pennbrook Middle School and on Prospect Avenue that have “helped a tremendous amount” with runoff in those areas, and the Ninth Street project could have similar benefits for those who live nearby.

“We’re still seeing heavy overflow of our section of the streambank. So I think this is going to help a lot,” Hart said.

Mayor Neil McDevitt added that he lives near that park and sees flooding there often, and asked if ongoing maintenance would be part of the project.

“Is this something that’s going to have to be done repeatedly, every 10, 15, 20 years? Or is this once and done?” he said.

Hart answered, “It’s never once and done,” and said earlier restoration work was done at the same park roughly 30 and roughly 15 years ago, and staff will monitor parks for further erosion or deterioration, and depending on the grant funding, longer-term fixes could be applied.

“I’ve seen in other municipalities where they’ve actually been able to put in boulders, and screening, and then re-plant: they’re learning what is actually able to last longer. I’m hoping we will use that technology to our benefit,” she said.

 For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.

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