The Paxton Creek Watershed & Education Association (PCWEA) was founded in 2001 with a three-part mission: to protect and enhance watershed resources, solve watershed problems, and facilitate hands-on environmental education.
The Paxton Creek watershed covers 27-square miles northeast of the City of Harrisburg, in Cental Pennsylvania. Upstream portions of the watershed histroically consisted of woodlands and farmland. While downstream portions of the watershed are situated within the City of Harrisburg where Paxton Creek flows through industrial and commercial properties. In places, downsteam, the creek is channelized and receives heavy sediment loads eroded from rapidly developing areas upstream.
Development in the upland areas of the watershed has led to the construction of impervious surfaces in the form of roads, parking lots, commercial, and residential buildings. These impervious surfaces severally limit infiltration of surface water into the ground and perpetuate stormwater runoff problems. Paxton Creek Watershed generates 15 times the amount of suspended sediments released by typical forested watersheds.