Dickinson College, PA Mully Grub Restoration
Type: Program
Status: Initiated in 1998
Source File: http://alpha.dickinson.edu/storg/allarm/projects%20and%20programs/mully%20grub.htm
Description:
The Mully Grub stream runs through the Borough of Carlisle, and is a tributary of the LeTort Spring Run, a renowned trout stream. The source spring of the Mully Grub is buried under Carlisle . As Carlisle developed over the centuries, the Mully Grub was redirected through underground piping. Today most of the Mully Grub flows beneath the streets, with only a small portion above ground near its junction with the LeTort.
In 1998, after years of monitoring and collecting stream data, Candie Wilderman and her students demonstrated that the Mully Grub contributed to pollution in the LeTort. Then a community watershed organization, the LeTort Regional Authority, worked with ALLARM and other Dickinson students to develop a restoration plan for the area. This is an excellent example of what can be accomplished through the cooperation of a community and an academic institution.
In the autumn of 2000, ALLARM completed the first phase of the Mully Grub restoration. This included the installation of brush and stone deflectors in the LeTort, reshaping the banks of the Mully Grub, and establishing a riparian buffer zone on the banks of the Mully Grub. For the riparian zone, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation donated plants and trees, and ALLARM worked with various community groups to plant them. This increases channel and bank stability, improves habitat, and should therefore increase the diversity of aquatic life.
The second phase of the restoration involved constructing a wetland area along the Mully Grub to filter out pollutants. The wetland was constructed in the Spring of 2002 on property donated by Mr. James C. Bartoli. ALLARM has been conducting ongoing monitoring and assessment to study the wetland's effectiveness in improving stream quality.
