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Frankford

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Give Water Some Respect with Watershed Wit!

Head to the Guild Hall Brewing Co. on Oct. 20 and send some of your beer money to a local watershed! Credit: TTF Watershed Partnership.
Head to the Guild Hall Brewing Co. on Oct. 20 and send some of your beer money to a local watershed! Credit: TTF Watershed Partnership.

At the start of the month, we lamented in the Philadelphia Inquirer that water infrastructure, which is often underground and out of sight, just doesn’t seem to get the same attention or funding as things that we see daily, like roads and bridges.

In many ways, it’s the same with beer, too: hops, malt and yeast get all the glory among beer snobs. But, ask any brewer, and they’ll tell you the truth: great water is just as important, if not more so, as all the other stuff that goes into a quality brew.

It’s no surprise then that local breweries like Victory (Headwaters Pale), Saucony Creek (Stonefly IPA) and Sly Fox (SRT Ale) all have beers that pay tribute (and actual profits) to the health of our local waterways.

Now, beer and watershed lovers in Northeast Philly and lower Montco have a beer of their own to hoist while drinking to health of their local stream. Watershed Wit is a new brew from a new, Jenkintown-based brewhouse, Guild Hall Brewing Company.

Located a short walk from the headwaters of the Tookany Creek, they draw tons of water from the local watershed every time they fire up the brew kettle. Good water quality isn’t an abstract concept for this business; they’re intimately aware of the need to protect our rivers and creeks.

In recognition of this basic fact, they’ve pledged a whopping 10 percent of Watershed Wit proceeds to support Tookany/Tacony-Frankford (TTF) Creek Watershed Partnership's mission to improve the health and vitality of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Creek. An incredibly dedicated group, TTF is constantly raising awareness about the need to protect and improve their watershed, and Philadelphia Water works closely with them on issues like education, water quality, and stream restoration.

To celebrate the release of this new, refreshing wheat beer (think Hoegaarden or Blue Moon), TTF and Guild Hall are throwing a tapping party dubbed “Creek to Craft” on Tuesday Oct. 20 at the brewery’s restaurant. Click here to learn more and get tickets.


Even if you can’t make the party, remember – grabbing a pint or growler still goes to the great cause of protecting one of Philly’s seven watersheds! Can we say cheers?

Restoration Team to Be Toasted at 'Watershed Milestones'

A car rests in a stream in the city's Northeast. Credit: Waterways Restoration Team,
A car rests in a stream in the city's Northeast. Credit: Waterways Restoration Team,

Ever see some serious trash—we’re talking tires, shopping carts, and yes, even cars—in a stream and wonder who on earth will ever have the muscle to get it out? That would be Philadelphia Water’s Waterways Restoration Team (WRT), a hard working branch of the department that takes on the aforementioned litter and does things like restore creek banks that have been degraded by erosion. 

It’s important work that doesn’t just restore the beauty of our waterways, but helps to preserve the quality of the water we drink. The Tookany/Tacony Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTFWP), an important group in our watershed stewardship efforts, is honoring the Waterways Restoration Team with their “Municipal Leader Award” at an event marking their 10th anniversary tonight.

Dubbed “Watershed Milestones,” the celebration will feature Philadelphia Water Commissioner Howard Neukrug and pays tribute to the various groups and people who have worked to improve and preserve the quality of the watershed’s 30 square miles beginning in Montgomery County and ending at the base of the Betsy Ross Bridge on the Delaware. In addition to regular volunteer cleanups that complement WRT work, TTFWP has helped Philadelphia Water to conduct litter studies, done important work to document and seed freshwater mussels in the creek, and organizes Tacony Creek Park nature walks, to name just a few of their activities.

Those who wish to support the group can get tickets for the event, to be held at the Globe Dye Works building in the Frankford neighborhood starting at 5:30 p.m., by clicking here. Proceeds will go toward outreach, education, and restoration efforts. Those who get tickets online can save $10 off the door charge.

Congratulations to TTF Watershed for 10 years of amazing work! 

Imagining Frankford

This Saturday, the Frankford Community, from Pratt Street down to Kensington Avenue, will celebrate their neighborhood. Community members, in collaboration with the Mural Arts Program and initiated by Council Woman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, have designed and created beautiful murals along a historic and diverse stretch of the Frankford corridor. Originally serving as a trail from Philadelphia to New York, Frankford Avenue has served residents of Philadelphia for decades and will continue to do so into the future. Along-side the restorative murals, the Philadelphia Water Department has implemented an exemplary rain garden in Womrath Park to help divert stormwater and pollutants from the nearby Frankford Creek. In addition to beautiful native plants, the collaborative project has also helped to bring other park improvements  for residents to enjoy the benefits of the rain garden and park.

From 11am to 1pm this Saturday, the 29th, the Frankford community, the Philadelphia Water Department and the Mural Arts Program will showcase and celebrate the neighborhood they have helped to further develop.  The day will include dedication of the murals by Mural Arts Director Jane Golden and muralist Cesar Viveros. The Water Department will host tours of the area as well as provide educational activities for children and families. Please RSVP for the event here

Read more about the Imaging Frankford Project.

Watch community members tell their stories of Frankford

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