I have friends who live in Meadowbrook Manor in West Whiteland. It’s a wonderful little cluster neighborhood of adorable little houses. Many of the residents have lived there for decades.
These residents have seen a lot of change. They have literally seen development gobble up big parts of Exton, and West Whiteland in general. They are also pipeline victims and part of hell on earth ground zero of those blasted pipelines.
Some folks from Meadowbrook Manor in West Whiteland have asked me to share the photos you see in this post and the videos. And they sent me a little statement as well which I am sharing with my readers verbatim:
Meadowbrook Manor built in the 1950s before anyone ever thought about floodplains or storm water management. We are one of (if not the) lowest point in the Whiteland valley. There are two streams that wind through our development; Valley Creek and an unnamed stream. As big, new developments have popped up along Valley Creek, one has to wonder how all the building and impervious ground cover impacts those of us downstream.
Yes, every new development must submit stormwater management plans to the township, but do those plans only protect the new construction from flooding? It is my understanding that new developments are not required to make things better for those of us downstream, but they certainly are not supposed to make it worse. Who is measuring and how is that determined, because things have definitely gotten worse. I have lived here for 26 years. The house next door didn’t flood even with hurricane Floyd, but in the last three years, it has had up to 10” of water inside. The poor young couple who bought it, has been displaced three times in three years. The house next to that has suffered the same fate. Some may blame climate change, and the intensity of recent storms, and I’m sure that is part of it.
The township has expressed sympathy, but we need action.
We need township engineers to follow the path of these streams and find places where more retention basins can be added to slow the tsunami of water that is engulfing homes with each heavy storm.
So won’t you be their neighbor, West Whiteland? When you look at this you realize exactly why Chester County needs to do better. And yes Chester County Planning Department this is why you all need to do better and get an executive director who is from Chester County and lives here. And then there are our state representatives and state senators who need to step up and get the damn Municipalities Planning Code updated and to protect our communities better.
I see all of you in Meadowbrook Manor. I just wish I had a magic wand.
Thank you for shining a light on this disaster
Totally agree. WIdespread clear cutting of trees and leveling ground for development changes rain management drastically by not only creating more impervious surfaces but degrading the ability of the topography to cope with heavy rains. Developers only think of the money they can make by building on it, not the impact it will have on neighboring communities. Makes me sick.
Last week, a one hour rain storm is causing major damage to homes and families. Lives has been lost in the past trying to deal with the flooding here. With more occurrences the chances of this only increase. Thank you ahead of time to the township folks who are advocating for swift change before more damage is done. Thank you!!
Thank you for putting this out there. I grew up here and it is frightening not just the water pouring in but knowing they continue to build and we haven’t seen the worst yet.
Whiteland Crest had the same issues. Please contact the West Whiteland Township engineer.
Renee, I’m just writing about it I’m not contacting anyone
They have been contacted….repeatedly. They have photos, videos and maps.
Then, can you take this to the state as well now because they’re the ones that don’t update the municipalities planning code so all you have is development adding to the flooding issues