Do I Have Your Ear ?

Do I Have Your Ear ?

I don't get away from my house too much, maybe once a week, but especially when I have a Doctor's appointment. Then, my wife, Connie, drives me around Pottstown so I get to see some of the changes being undertaken by town citizens and the borough itself. So, I get a birds eye view of town about every two months, this way, small continuous changes become readily evident and more memorable.

But, also evident and more memorable, are things which which should have changed but haven't. One that's so obvious and, which if not done, will create financial harm to many Pottstown residents and still this has not been addressed.

The Manatawny Creek has been prone to flood over its recorded history. It has a finite space for the stream, under normal weather conditions, to flow under the King Street Bridge on its path to merge with the river further south. Calculations for the bridge construction included the amount of anticipated water flow that could move under the bridge without building waters up stream, therefore, flooding Manatawny Street and adjacent properties.

If it has happened before, you can be sure it will happen again!

Silt has washed down stream and deposited below and above the bridge reducing the flow of water that could move under the bridge in any abnormal rain event. Adding insult to injury is the fact, that not only has silt built up but in that silt, trees and vegetation have germinated. These growing plants anchor them selves together and form a permanent barrier, they are islands in the making.

The Borough of Pottstown must remove these islands from the Manatawny Creek as soon as possible. This is so obvious its apparent need may be overlooked, something like, "not seeing the trees for the woods".
I'm sure there'll be appeals to the county and the state for them to address the problem of potential flooding.

Fleeting away is the time needed for correction, although, our weather has no set time table. A flooding deluge could come next week, next month, or next year, but come it will. Have you watched films on television depicting the terrible results from flooding around the World which someday will happen here ?

I hope we do more than give this potential problem a shrug and a nod. Benign neglect is the worse answer Pottstown could give its citizens.

Ronald C. Downie