Racing for the watershed - Chadds Ford Live

They ran for fun, for the park, and for clean water. More than 8o runners took part in the second annual 5K Race for the Watershed at the Newlin Grist Mill Park on Saturday. Last year’s race netted $10,000 for the park and Executive Director Tony Shahan said he was hoping to match that this year.

“We’re hoping for a similar outcome,” he said before the race. “Last year the funds went to buying a YSI water monitor, a handheld digital unit that gives us a lot more accuracy and actually stands up in legal proceedings. It’s been very helpful in making sure our water monitoring has improved.”

Brian Louis, of West Chester, crosses the finish line at the 5K in less than 20 minutes.

Funds raised from this year’s event will get more monitoring equipment “so we can do a better job of protecting the watershed.”

Shahan went on to call water the lifeblood of the park during a rededication of the millrace. The millrace had been shut down for the last six years because of excessive silting that occurred during the widening of the upper portion of the Conchester Highway. The silting shut down the flow of water to the ponds and to the mill. Even fishing at the park had to be stopped.

“A lot of people don’t know what water means to us here,” Shahan said. “Without water, we don’t run our mill, we don’t do fishing, we don’t do any of our environmental education in our wetlands. So, we’re thrilled because all of those things run off of our millrace. Having that start back up this week has been like a breath of air and the whole site has come back alive again.”

There’s still more work to be done to bring the park back all the way. Shahan said they still need to finish rebuilding the spillway gate (the small waterfall area near the visitors’ center) and the mill’s waterwheel. He said he’s hoping to have celebrations for those events later this year.

“Then our water system will be back functioning,” Shahan said.

Scooping up the ducks. Rubber ducks from the duck regatta get scooped up after coming down the spillway.

And caring for the park is what helped motivate many of the runners to take part.

Christa McLaughlin and her husband, who live in Concord Township, came for the fun of the event, but also to help Newlin.

“We do want to help. We like Newlin Grist Mill and we come here quite a bit just to enjoy it. Anything we can do to help the water, to keep it clean, we’re here to support, she said.”

Kate Etherington, from Easttown Township, is the executive director of the Willistown Conservation Trust. Her trust had an exhibitor’s table at the event, but she also ran the 5K.

“We partner with the Newlin Grist Mill. We have a watershed protection program, so we work to help protect, study, and monitor our watersheds,” she said.

Etherington added that the work at Newlin affects what her group does.

“Water flows. It’s all connected and so the water that we protect farther upstream protects our downstream neighbors as well.”

Another runner was Mark Burford. He’s originally from the United Kingdom but is now in Concord. However, this was the first time at the grist mill park. He said the reason for the run is important.

“It’s always good to do something for the environment,” he said.

State Rep. Craig Williams, R-160, left, tells the crowd that he agrees with the grist mill’s Executive Director Tony Shahan, right, that the water is the life blood of the mill and park.

Philip Pegan, from Upper Chichester, said he and his wife love visiting the park, and they also enjoy running an occasional race. But the cause of the race is the park is significant.

“I’m happy to support the cause. I love Newlin Grist Mill, love what they do here in terms of preservation of both historical elements and the natural elements,” he said.

Brian Louis, from West Chester, was the overall winner of the 5K, finishing in 19 minutes and 36 seconds. While an active runner, Louis said the reason for the race is important.

“Anything to preserve the parks or water is beneficial,” he said adding that while he runs whenever his schedule permits, “if it’s for a good cause, it’s an added bonus.”

After the 5K and the rubber duck regatta down the spillway, Shahan and a few others spoke about the park and the need to preserve the watershed.

Shahan said the reopening of the water system was a day many people thought would never arrive. The negative feedback was because of all the silting that had come about because of the work on the Conchester.

“In two-and-a-half years they silted in our millrace, our frog pond, and all of our fishing ponds. For us at Newlin Grist Mill, water is the heart of everything we do. It runs our mills and, you can’t fish without it, we have all of our education programs, our wetland education programs are all dependent upon it,” he said. In the two-and-a-half years from the beginning of that [road widening] project, they stopped the mill that had been running for over 300 years…They changed almost completely all of our wetlands.”

The staff and volunteers at the mill were able to clear the silt in six years and get the mill and park back to full functionality and likened the water to the park’s lifeblood.

“For us, this is an incredible day because, as I said, this is the heart of the site. We have a heart that’s pumping our blood. This is what’s pumping water that keeps everything else going.”

He added that they flooded the millrace last week for the first time in six years and water resumed flowing over the spillway.

“It was almost like the site took a big deep breath and came back to life. Until we heard the water running again, we didn’t realize how quiet it had become here and how dead the site had become.”

Stretch time. Runners take a post-race stretch. They also took a stretch before the race.

After the water began flowing, he said staff members would sometimes just go out and stare at the water coming down the spillway because they missed the sight and sound. He added that the spillway gate and the water wheel should be finished this summer.

Also on hand were state Rep Craig Williams, R-160, and Concord Council Co-Vice President John Gillespie.

Williams said he loves the history of Newlin Grist Mill. His district office on Route 202 was once a tavern owned in part by the Newlin family. He said Shahan was exactly right about the significance of the water.

“The main artery, the heartbeat of the mill is open again, and we’ve overcome challenges together over these last four years. I’m so grateful to you and the trustees working hard to get this place open because it both is a piece of our history and the nerve center of our township and our district,” Williams said.

Gillespie said reopening the millrace “symbolizes the strong partnership between Concord Township and the Newlin Grist Mill…The mill is a trues treasure of Concord Township. This 160-acre preserved park offers a unique blend of historical and environmental exploration…It plays a vital role in our community by preserving history and open space, conserving plants and waterways, and providing a venue for education and recreation.”

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.