Flood Resiliency Efforts Made Possible Through Grants
LEWISBURG – By the end of this summer, Lewisburg residents will see a fully transformed Hufnagle Park and Kidsburg. The Bull Run Greenway Project will help prevent future flooding, extend the rail trail and add a nature play area.
Steve Beattie, community development and grant manager for the borough, said drilling was completed late last month to allow for water and sewer connections to the park. He said that is in preparation for installation of a handicap-accessible, unisex bathrooms, being installed this summer. He said an interactive nature play area is being constructed.
“Things like being able to touch different types of soil, stones and pebbles . . . different spaces being built with the landscape, trees and flowers. It’s meant to be a hands-on area for kids to really be able to connect with nature,” he said.
Beattie also said the borough is looking into further flood resiliency efforts, “We will continue to do projects on other segments of Bull Run, further upstream. We’re preliminarily looking at the area north of Market Street to remove a lot of the soil that was placed in the flood plain, adding native plants and naturalizing it.”
Elsewhere in the borough, there are other projects underway. He said an emergency notification system will be installed as well, “It’s fully funded with our Community Development Block Grant and it will consist of four sirens throughout the borough. It will also give warnings such as imminent flooding, stay aware, seek high ground.”
You can hear more of Beattie’s WKOK Sunrise interview on our podcast page.
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