Little Cocalico Creek

The Cocalico Creek Watershed is located in the Northcentral section of the county.  This 140 square mile watershed was originally named by the Delaware Native American tribe with Cocalico meaning “Snake Dens”.  Today there are about 197 miles of streams within the Cocalico Creek Watershed.  The mainstem and the parts of the Little Cocalico Creek originate in Lebanon and Berks Counties and flow mostly south to the stream’s confluence with the Conestoga River around Brownstown.  According to the USGS Stream Stats website nearly 37% of the watershed is forested and only 7% of the watershed has urban development on it.  The watershed encompasses towns like Denver, Ephrata and Akron.  There is an active watershed association doing work within the watershed, the Cocalico Creek Watershed Alliance.  The Alliance does mostly outreach and educational work within the mainstem upper reaches of Cocalico Creek but also works with landowners and others on potential stream and streamside projects in the watershed.  There have been several studies completed by various groups within the watershed and outside the watershed as well.  From watershed wide assessments to groundwater studies.