Senator Vincent Hughes and Representative Mary Jo Daley awarded Montgomery County with a $1 million grant to support floodplain restoration along the Wissahickon Creek in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County officials announced.

The land was damaged during Hurricane Ida and the ensuing clean-up. With a construction budget of $3.8 million, the project will be executed in three phases. Surveying work began at the site in 2024, while project design and permitting reviews are expected to continue throughout 2025. Construction in the 11-acre site is expected to begin in spring 2026 and take 6–9 months to complete, officials said.

The grant will be used to rebuild native habitats, support infrastructure to reduce flooding in nearby communities, and expand access to the Wissahickon Trail for recreation and education.

The specific goals of the project are: 

• Reduce flooding and improve water quality by preventing pollution and sedimentation downstream through the use of nature-based stormwater management strategies to control and treat the stormwater discharge on-site. These strategies will reduce the volume and velocity of floodwater downstream, increase infiltration rates on-site, reduce runoff rates of known pollutants of nitrogen and phosphorous, and stabilize the soil on the site;
• Restore the local terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem by recreating wildlife habitat through improvements in riparian buffers and stream channel/wetland restoration;
• Improve community aesthetics and provide a sense of place on the site by enhancing the environmental quality and visual appearance of the existing site, connecting the community to the waterway, creating educational opportunities on-site, and providing scenic beauty along the roadway.

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Photos: Montgomery County