Murrysville library program will focus on Turtle Creek's history, recovery

In the 1970s, anyone living in the vicinity of Saunders Station near the Murrysville-Monroeville border is likely to have known Turtle Creek by another name: “Sulfur Creek.”

It was a far cry from the waterway’s earliest known name, “Tulpewi Sipu,” which translates from the native Delaware Algonquian as “turtle stream.” At that time, the creek’s conditions were so pristine Native Americans could easily refer to it by its abundant terrapin population.

But abandoned mine drainage from early-century mines upstream loaded so much iron and sulfur into the creek it eventually ran orange and often smelled of rotten eggs, and most animal and plant life could not survive.

Beginning in the early 1970s, members of the fledgling Turtle Creek Watershed Association began working with the University of Pittsburgh and the state to make the stream hospitable for aquatic life. By 1983, a 12-inch rainbow trout was recovered near the Saunders Station Bridge, and Turtle Creek’s inaugural trout stocking began a year later in 1984.

Murrysville library officials will bring watershed association members to the Murrysville Community Center on July 1 as part of their “Tails and Tales” summer reading program to discuss Turtle Creek’s history, environmental challenges and recreational opportunities.

“Everything drains into Turtle Creek,” said association board member Susan Forney. “People don’t always think about the drain inlets along the roadside and other things like that. Anything that gets dumped down the drain, excess chemicals on your lawn, it all ends up in the creek and it all impacts the quality of the water.”

The association marked its 50th anniversary in 2020, and also secured a $75,560 Growing Greener grant from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, which will be used to assess and address abandoned mine discharges throughout the watershed.

“That’s a huge win for us,” Forney said. “Once they get the study underway, they can apply for additional funding to get parts of the stream cleaned up.”

From stream-bank stabilization to neighborhood awareness campaigns focused on storm water drainage, the association has worked diligently over the years to constantly improve Turtle Creek.

“People tend to forget how far we’ve come,” Forney said.

“Turtle Tales: The History and Recovery of Turtle Creek” will be at 6 p.m., July 1 at the community center, 3091 Carson Ave. in Murrysville.