Map of Lancaster showing the water flow running North to South in the city. Conestoga River curves it way around the bottom of the map. |
Monday, April 6, 2020
The "Soda Fountain Developer And Cherry Coke Hero: Part III - The Roaring Brook" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading a bit more in my LNP newspaper about Lancaster's "lost river" which still flows freely, but cannot be seen. As I wrote in yesterday's story, Lancaster's Roaring Brook ran through the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, north to south. It was fed by a few springs in a wetland along Walnut Street between Mulberry and Charlotte. Also known as Bethel's Run, the Roaring Brook flowed south to the Conestoga River which crossed from west to east at Engleside. I can remember Hurricane Agnes that struck Lancaster in 1972 and caused massive flooding throughout the county and caused the Conestoga River to overflow to the south of Lancaster, just about the same location where it's Roaring Brook entered the river. The brook also had a tributary in Lancaster's SoWe (south-west) section of the city also known as Cabbage Hill. I recently read in the local newspaper that there were three wetlands in Lancaster by the names of Dark Hazel Swamp, Long Swamp and a wetland in the headwaters of the main stem of Roaring Brook. These three wetlands also fed Roaring Brook.
Alongside these lines were sewer lines that ran into the city treatment plant at the south of the city. Now, to top off this flowing of water and sewage north to south, mostly on Water Street, in the late 1800s the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad decided to run railroad lines down the middle of Water Street. So, the city of Lancaster had freshwater, sewer water and railroad lines all running north and south on Water Street out of the city. Today, when major storms strike the city of Lancaster, the sewer lines are overwhelmed and at times overflow the treatment plant to the south of Lancaster. So, the Roaring Brook and Lancaster's sewage system overwhelms the treatment plant and flows into the Conestoga River. Those living downstream don't dare swim in that mess if possible. But, in 2011 Lancaster did prepare a plan to slow down the runoff of water in the Roaring Brook into the sewer system. It's not the same Lancaster that I grew up in three quarters of a century ago, but it does bring back memories from the past, be they good or bad. Oh, for the good ole days! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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