A new study, led by the Brandywine Conservancy, aims to help in the battle to protect the Brandywine Watershed, especially following Hurricane Ida’s 800-year flood, writes Anthony R. Wood for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

The $500,000, nine-month study was announced on Aug. 22. Part of it will focus on determining what is causing the flooding, while another part will try to determine what can be done about it. 

The potential fixes will come with a high price tag. 

“Obviously, it’s going to be a lot of money,” said Seung Ah Byun, executive director of Chester County Water Resources Authority, which is participating in the study, along with Delaware County and the University of Delaware Water Resources Center. 

It will most likely take more than $20 million to mitigate the relentless flood hazards at the watershed. 

However, if a proper solution is found, it will go beyond the Brandywine. 

“What we do on the Brandywine, we think, is going to be transferable to other watersheds,” said Grant DeCosta, of the Brandywine Conservancy. 

He added that after the issues are diagnosed, the plan would deal with them on an “à la carte” basis. 

Read more about the plan to help the Brandywine Watershed in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

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