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Confluence: June 2002, Vol. 4, No. 4
Featured Watershed Group

Brandywine Valley Association
In March of 1945, thirty people from the West Chester and Wilmington areas got together to listen to a man named Clayton Hoff talk about the Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania. What they heard was alarming. In many spots the creek was little more than an open sewer, the result of wastewater being dumped into the stream with little or no treatment. In addition, thousands of tons of soil were being washed into the Brandywine - choking aquatic life and diminishing water quality. Recognizing that such threats would cause permanent damage, this group founded The Brandywine Valley Association, the first small watershed association in America.

BVA is now more than 800 members strong and is still working to protect the picturesque and productive Brandywine Creek. The sixty-mile creek is rich with cultural and historical heritage and has long played a key role in the economic development and quality of life for this region. Today, the Brandywine not only provides water for household, commercial, and industrial users in Coatesville, Downingtown, West Chester and Wilmington, it offers recreational opportunities for residents and tourists who enjoy canoeing, fishing, swimming and the creek's natural beauty.

In addition to environmental projects, BVA also offers education opportunities to elementary and middle school students. Program brochures are available at BVA's website (http://www.bva-rcva.org/BVA/bva_main.htm). Also available from this site is BVA's watershed newsletter.

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