‘We’re being good stewards:’ Turnpike Restores Stream to Help Water Shed

When you think about the Pennsylvania Turnpike, waterways might not be the first thing to come to mind. 

But it’s a top priority for a team of environmental engineers who work all year round to ensure America’s First Superhighway continues to do its part to keep streams, creeks and rivers around the Turnpike clean.  

One recent stream and floodplain restoration project turned rural Lancaster County’s Stony Run from this: 

It’s all part of the Turnpike’s pollutant-reduction plan. Environmental Engineer Project Manager Raelene Gabriel explained Stony Run may be small, but it’s a tributary of larger waterways that eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay. With exposed soil and eroding banks, Stony Run was sending sediment downstream. The amount of sediment being transported is being reduced thanks to the Turnpike’s efforts at Stony Run and similar projects along the Turnpike system.   

Gabriel is the coordinator for the Turnpike’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) program. Simply put, the MS4 program reduces pollutants in stormwater runoff that are discharged from the system and it’s something the Turnpike considers with most projects. From restoring Stony Creek, to constructing stormwater basins for highway projects, to controlling stormwater runoff from Maintenance facilities and service plazas, she is proud of the Turnpike’s efforts, which, to her, are about more than following a regulation. 

“I think it falls under the Stewardship,” Gabriel said, referencing the Turnpike’s new Strategic Plan. “We’re being good stewards of our environment and our efforts to control what’s coming off of our system.”  

To learn more, visit the Turnpike’s clean-water website, where you can find lots of information about stormwater compliance, the MS4 program, the journey toward clean water, photos, an interactive stormwater data viewer, and more.  

By Steve Marroni, PA Turnpike Communications Specialist