Pequea Creek

The Pequea Creek Watershed is located in the Southcentral portion of the county.  This 153 square mile watershed is named for a clan of the Shawnees Native American tribe who had a village on the creek.  Pequea meaning “dust” or “ashes”.  Today there are about 237 miles of streams within the Pequea Creek Watershed.  The mainstem of the Pequea Creek and its tributaries flow mostly southwest to the stream’s confluence with the Susquehanna River around Martic Forge.  According to the USGS Stream Stats website about 26% of the watershed is forested and only about 3% of the watershed has urban development on it.  The watershed starts in western Chester County and encompasses portions of Strasburg and Quarryville Boroughs.  Presently there is not an active watershed association working within the Pequea but there was a small group in the past doing some conservation work within the watershed.  This organization mostly dealt with education and outreach and stream restoration work in the watershed.  There have been numerous studies completed by various groups within the watershed and outside the watershed as well.  There is even a Watershed Implementation plan for the Pequea Creek which is a guiding blueprint for restoration efforts.