The Garage Youth Center Underground infiltration basin and Greening project
Location: Avondale, Pennsylvania (Chester County)
Installed: August-November 2025
Partners: White Clay Watershed Association, The Garage Youth Center, PA DEP, Meliora Design, LLC, ThinkGreen, LLC, Proto Landscape Design, LLC.
Funding Support: White Clay Wild and Scenic River Funding, Catch the Rain Program Funding, PA DEP Growing Greener Grant.
Protecting the East Branch of White Clay Creek while strengthening a community space was at the heart of the Garage Youth Community Center Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) project. Located in Avondale Borough, Chester County, Pennsylvania, The Garage serves as a youth center and community gathering place—yet its largely impervious site was channeling stormwater runoff directly toward local waterways. Through a partnership between the White Clay Watershed Association, PA DEP, and local landscape design firms, this project transformed the site with two complementary improvements: a 350 square foot underground infiltration basin behind the building that collects 5,040 square feet of roof runoff reducing 194 pounds of sediment per year to the East Branch of White Clay Creek, and a front-area depaving and planting effort that replaces concrete with raised planting boxes and some native vegetation. Together, these practices reduce stormwater runoff volume, improve habitat, and create a safer, more welcoming environment for the students and community members who use this space every day.
