Mill Creek
pushpin map showing location of Mill Creek
pushpin map showing location of Mill Creek
Mill Creek
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyBucks
TownshipMiddletown, Bristol
BoroughBristol
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates40°12′2″N 74°53′24″W / 40.20056°N 74.89000°W / 40.20056; -74.89000
 • elevation160 feet (49 m)
Mouth 
 • coordinates
40°5′33″N 74°53′24″W / 40.09250°N 74.89000°W / 40.09250; -74.89000
 • elevation
0 feet (0 m)
Length11.04 miles (17.77 km)
Basin size19.80 square miles (51.3 km2)
Basin features
ProgressionMill Creek → Delaware River → Delaware Bay
River systemDelaware River
LandmarksForsythia Crossing Park
Mill Creek Valley Park
Silver Lake County Park
Tributaries 
 • leftQueen Anne Creek
East Branch Mill Creek
WaterbodiesMagnolia Lake
Silver Lake
BridgesSee table below
Slope14.49 feet per mile (2.744 m/km)

Mill Creek (also known as Otter Creek) is a 11.04 miles (17.77 km) long tributary of the Delaware River and is one of six streams in Bucks County, Pennsylvania by the same name. Mill Creek rises just east of Core Creek Park in Middletown Township and reaches its confluence at the Delaware River's 118.87 river mile in Bristol Borough.

History

In 1885, the "Atlas of Properties Near the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad" by G.M. Hopkins, give Mill Creek shows the stream from its source to the confluence with Queen Anne Creek (Mill Creek) as Mill Creek, but, below that as Otter Creek. Some modern maps show Mill Creek all the way to the Delaware except that the estuary itself is labeled as Otter Creek.[1]

The east branch of Mill Creek is also known locally as Black Ditch Creek.[2]

Lake Magnolia was originally a soil borrow site during the Pennsylvania Turnpike construction decades ago.[3]

Silver Lake appears to have been created around 1701 after a dam was built in 1687 to power a mill in Bristol. Due to the rust-colored water, baths were built beginning in 1773 and completed in 1801 as it was thought to cure many diseases. Silver Lake has been dredged a number of times to remove silt.[4]

In March 2023, approximately 8,000 gallons of "latex finishing material" leaked into Otter Creek.[5] The material leaked from a pipe at a Trinseo plant.[6] Residents of Philadelphia were advised to drink bottled water on March 26, as there was a chance tap water may have been impacted.[7]

Statistics

The watershed of Mill Creek is 19.80 square miles (51.3 km2), passing through residential, commercial, and industrial areas, much of the path of the creek lies in Levittown, Pennsylvania. The Geographic Name Information System I.D. is 1181137,[8] U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey I.D. is 02916.[9]

Course

Rising just east of the Core Creek Park at an elevation of 160 feet (49 m), the west branch of Mill Creek flows generally south-southeast to its 9.69 river mile just east of Langhorne Manor where it meets an unnamed tributary on the right bank. Then it turns to the south for a distance to the Mill Creek Valley Park. Making an S-bend, at the 5.14 river mile, it then joins with Queen Anne Creek then flows south until its adjacent to Interstate 276 Pennsylvania Turnpike where it makes a hard left at the 3.07 river mile to flow east into the Black Ditch Park where meets with the east branch of Mill Creek. At the 2.00 river mile, Mill Creek flows into Silver Lake which discharges Mill Creek at the 1.33 river mile, thence meet its confluence with the Delaware River at an elevation of 0 feet (0 m). The average slope of Mill Creek including the west branch is 14.49 feet per mile (2.744 m/km).[10]

The east branch rises with two branches near the Falls Township Lake. After a short distance to the southwest, it meets a branch that connects with the Pennsylvania Canal (Delaware Division), then continues variously south and southeast to its confluence with the west branch in the Black Ditch Park.

Named Tributaries

  • Queen Anne Creek
  • East Branch Mill Creek

Municipalities

Public Parks

  • Main Branch
    • Silver Lake County Park
    • Black Ditch Park
  • western branch
    • Mill Creek County Park

Crossings

CrossingNBI NumberLengthLanesSpansMaterial/DesignBuiltReconstructedLatitudeLongitude
Eastern Branch Mill Creek
Levittown Parkway--4----40°9'39"N74°49'57"W
Crabtree Drive-------40°9'38"N74°50'1"W
Holly Pass-------40°9'24"N74°50'14"W
Oak Tree Pass-------4°9'4"N74°50'30"W
Overbrook Lane-------40°8'50"N74°50'32"W
Mill Creek Parkway-------40°8'44"N74°50'30"W
Edgely Road-------40°8'19"N74°50'32"W
Green Lane-------40°7'53"N74°51'25"W
Western Branch Mill Creek
Croasdale Dr-------40°11'59"N74°53'23"W
Big Oak Road-------40°11'49"N74°53'18"W
Woodbourne Road-------40°11'34"N74°53'29"W
U.S. Route 1-------40°11'20"N74°53'42"W
Pennsylvania Route 213 (Maple Avenue)69467 metres (23 ft)21Concrete culvert1972-40°10'36"N74°54'0"W
U.S. Route 1 (business)(Lincoln Highway)70226 metres (20 ft)21Concrete culvert1969-40°9'54"N74°54'6"W
Interstate 95 (Delaware Expressway) northbound686119 metres (62 ft)31Prestressed concrete box beam or girder - single or spread1972-40°9'43.2"N74°54'2.92"W
Interstate 95 (Delaware Expressway) southbound686019 metres (62 ft)31Prestressed concrete box beam or girder - single or spread1972-40°9'42.7"N74°54'2.14"W
Pennsylvania Route 413 (New Rodgers Road)70199 metres (30 ft)21Concrete arch-deck1949201240°9'40.8"N74°53'48.62"W
Trenton Road717915 metres (49 ft)21Prestressed concrete box beam or girder - multiple1957201040°9'27.9"N74°53'29.3"W
Forsythia Crossing4882313 metres (43 ft)22Steel multi-beam or girder1960-40°9'14.84"N74°53'9.2"W
Frosty Hollow Road749013 metres (43 ft)21Box beam or girders - multiple1957-40°8'52.8"N74°52'49.4"W
New Falls Road716214.9 metres (49 ft)22Concrete slab, concrete cast-in-place deck1970-40°8'24"N74°52'34"W
Bristol Oxford Valley Road722625 metres (82 ft)21Concrete tee beam, concrete cast-in-place deck1954-40°7'36"N74°51'56"W
Main Branch Mill Creek
Interstate 276 Pennsylvania Turnpike767837.2 metres (122 ft)43Steel stringer/multi-beam or girder, concrete cast-in-place deck1954-40°7'30"N74°51'36"W
Lakeland Avenue750023.8 metres (78 ft)22Prestressed concrete box beam or girders1954-40°7'9"N74°51'34"W
Bath Road722517.4 metres (57 ft)21Steel stringer/multi-beam or girder, concrete cast-in-place deck1958-40°6'11"N74°51'50"W
U.S. Route 13 (Bristol Pike)677031 metres (102 ft)43Steel stringer/multi-beam or girder, concrete cast-in-place deck1955-40°9'30"N74°48'48"W
Otter Street-------40°5'49"N74°52'11"W
Old Route 13-------40°5'48"N74°52'11"W
Maple Beach Road-------40°5'37"N74°51'45"W

See also

References

  1. ↑ MacReynolds, George, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P243.
  2. ↑ "Black Ditch Creek". www.livin-in-l-town.com. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Mill Creek (Otter Creek) Watershed Assessment" (PDF). www.bucksccd.org. November 22, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-22. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Silver Lake Park - Coastal Plain Forest (465 acres)". BucksCounty.org. Archived from the original on 2017-07-19. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Wood, Anthony R. "More than 8,000 gallons of hazardous material spills in a Bucks County creek near the Delaware River". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Sharber, Cory (26 March 2023). "Advisory issued out of an 'abundance of caution' following Delaware River chemical spill". WHYY. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Hanna, Maddie (26 March 2023). "Philly residents advised to drink bottled water Sunday afternoon following chemical spill, officials say". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "Domestic Names".
  9. ↑ "Pennsylvania Gazetteer Of Streams" (PDF). lycoming.edu. p. 97. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-07.
  10. ↑ "Bristol Township · Pennsylvania".
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