Why Middletown Drinking Water is so Good

The water we drink in Middletown Township is some of the cleanest and safest in the region because we are blessed with riparian buffers.

Middletown township’s entire eastern border is the Ridley Creek (creek). We drink from Ridley Creek. Our public water supply from AquaPA, (formerly Media Waterworks since 1854), pulls our drinking water from the stream and filters it for human consumption.

Our water is safe because of what's called a "riparian buffer": Continuous sections of forest that keep water shady and cool, which creates an ecological environment that keeps the water clean before it enters the water treatment plant. Middletown township is fortunate to have a vast riparian buffer provided by the forests of Ridley Creek State Park and Tyler Arboretum.

Riparian buffers are not only useful for filtering out harmful contaminants, they also put physical distance and natural filters between the water we drink and the human or industrial contamination. We live in a world with many chemicals and compounds, accidents happen, and it's better if they didn't happen to the water we all depend on.

The riparian buffer for Ridley Creek extends from Ridley Creek State Park in the north, flows south down Ridley Creek road and alongside Mineral Hill before it reaches our water treatment facility. While Ridley Creek supplies our water on a daily basis, if water levels are low the plant can also receive water from Chester Creek.

Whether our water comes from Ridley Creek, Chester Creek, or one of the dozens of tributaries that feed into them, we all need to be aware of the role riparian buffers play in keeping the water in Middletown Township clean and safe.

OutdoorMiddletown is committed to protecting our ecosystem, one riparian buffer at a time.

https://www.crcwatersheds.org/about/ridley-creek-watershed/

https://www.mediaborough.com/DocumentCenter/View/348/Stormwater-Trees-and-Our-Drinking-Water-PDF