Robin Run Explained

Robin Run
Pushpin Map:USA Pennsylvania
Pushpin Map Size:250
Pushpin Map Alt:pushpin map showing location of
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:Pennsylvania
Subdivision Type3:County
Subdivision Name3:Bucks
Subdivision Type4:Township
Subdivision Name4:Wrightstown, Buckingham
Length:2.01miles
Source1 Elevation:320feet
Mouth Elevation:161feet
Progression:Robin Run → Mill CreekDelaware RiverDelaware Bay
River System:Delaware River
Basin Size:2.27sqmi
Waterbodies:Robin Run Lake
Custom Label:Slope
Custom Data:76.1ft/mi

Robin Run is a dammed headwater major tributary of the Delaware River with a drainage area of 22.69 square miles that is 1.69 miles north 1.69 miles north of Mill Creek's Confluence with the Neshaminy Creek[1] on the border of Buckingham and Wrightstown Townships),[2] The headwaters originate in Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the stream flows generally southeast to its confluence with Mill Creek in Wrightstown Township.

Major tributaries of the Upper and Middle Neshaminy Creek include the West and North Branch of Neshaminy Creek, Pine Run, Cooks Run, Mill Creek, Lahaska Creek, Robin Run, Watson Creek, and Newtown Creek, all of which flow into the Main Stem Neshaminy Creek.[3]

The Geographic Name Information System I.D. is 1185219,[4] U.S. Department of the Interior Geological Survey I.D. is 02598.[5]

Previously, the Neshaminy Water Resources Authority oversaw the dam, however, Bucks County assumed control and oversight of the dam(s). Robin Run in Buckingham Township is one of six county dams, including the Newtown Creek in Newtown Township, Nockamixon Dam in Pine Run in Doylestown, and, Core Creek in Middletown Township.[6] For Robin Run, a regression analysis correlating existing discharges with drainage area was developed prior to construction of the dam.[7]

In 2009, Bucks County workers performed an unauthorized valve repair that flushed "tens of thousands" of healthy fish[8] out of the reservoir to suffer and die on the banks downstream.[9] [10] Bucks County was fined by the PA DEP for the illegal action, however, the fine was unpaid, or was paid with the proceeds not used to correct the damage and replace the fish that were killed. As a result, the lake has not been re-stocked with fish and remains a depressing place to go fishing.[11]

Course

Robin Run rises a short distance northwest of Lower Mountain Road in Buckingham Township, flowing southeast flowing through a small unnamed pond then through Robin Run Lake, a dammed reservoir built by Bucks County in 1971, then passing into Wrightstown Township, where it meets its confluence with Mill Creek at 1.55 river mile. There are no other significant tributaries.

Geology

Robin Run begins in the Lockatong Formation, a sedimentary rock layer deposited in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York during the Triassic Period. Mineralogy includes argillite, some shale, limestone, and calcareous shale named after the Lockatong Creek in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

In 2018, the United States Geological Survey was awarded a $60,000 grant to conduct a dam assessment and watershed study of Robin Run.[12]

The Lockatong is defined as a light to dark gray, greenish-gray, and black very fine grained sandstone, silty argillite, and laminated mudstone. In New Jersey, the cyclic nature of the formation is noted with hornfels near diabase and basalt flows.

The Lockatong is often described as lake or litoral sediments. The interfingering nature of the sediments with the surrounding Stockton Formation and Passaic Formation suggests that these littoral environments shifted as climate or as the dynamic terrane of the area developed. The deposition of calcitic sediments is indicative of a climate with high evaporation rates.[13]

It very quickly finds itself in the Brunswick Formation, a sedimentary rock layer deposited during the Jurassic and Triassic. Mineralogy includes shale, mudstone, siltstone, argillite, some hornfel.

Municipalities

Crossings and Bridges

[15]

Crossing NBI Number Length Lanes Spans Material/Design Built Reconstructed LatitudeLongitude
Smith Road (local road 373)752423feet--Continuous concrete stringer/multi-beam or girder, bituminous surface1927-40°16'36"N75°1'58"W
Creamery Road---------
Lower Mountain Road---------

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1975 Army Corps of Engineers Study. https://web.archive.org/web/20190505175820/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a101592.pdf. live. May 5, 2019.
  2. MacReynolds, George, Place Names in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Doylestown, Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, PA, 1942, P1.
  3. Web site: Upper and Middle Neshaminy Creek Watershed River Conservation Plan.
  4. Web site: GNIS Detail - Robin Run.
  5. http://www.lycoming.edu/cwi/pdfs/paGazetterOfStreams.pdf
  6. Web site: Newtown Creek dam deemed safe by county engineer. BucksLocalNews.com. Petra Chesner Schlatter. The Advance of Bucks County. en. 2019-05-05.
  7. Web site: Flood study - FEMA.
  8. Web site: Fish Kill In Bucks County. www.thebassbarn.com. 2019-05-05.
  9. Web site: Thousands of fish die in Bucks Co. 6abc.com 6abc Philadelphia Archive 6abc.com. Archive. 6abc. 6abc Philadelphia. en. 2019-05-05.
  10. Web site: Save Plumstead Water: "Bucks faces hefty fines for fish kills". Watch. Plumstead. 2010-08-19. Save Plumstead Water. 2019-05-05.
  11. Web site: Bucks Co Facing Fines For Fish Kills - WNPV Radio 98.5FM & 1440AM. wnpv1440.com. 2019-05-05.
  12. Web site: see page 9.
  13. Web site: Pennsylvania Geological Survey . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20210409185604/http://www.gis.dcnr.state.pa.us/geology/index.html . dead . April 9, 2021 . PaGEODE . U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior . 26 October 2017.
  14. Bedrock Geologic Map Of New Jersey .
  15. http://www.uglybridges.com/, retrieved June, 2017