Tubing - Wissahickon Creek?

[FLiP]

#1 Are you allowed to?
#2 Is the water clean?
#3 Has anyone here ever done it?

[seand]

1. Undoubtedly not. However just like swimming at Devil's Pool is illegal, you probably wont get busted.

2. No not really. A lot of agricultural and storm drain run off from MontCo. By the time you hit Germantown sewage from people's homes in thunderstorm situations dumps directly in. Probably won't kill you but I wouldn't make a regular habit of it.

3. It gets pretty shallow at points so I imagine there will be as much walking as floating. Tell us how it goes. Or if you get busted.

[stonefly]

No to all three.

There is a swimming ban in all Philly creeks for safety reasons.

There are approx. 5 sewage treatment plants that discharge to the Wissahickon upstream of Philadelphia. In the summer the treated effluent makes up most of the stream flow.

[stonefly]

1. Undoubtedly not. However just like swimming at Devil's Pool is illegal, you probably wont get busted.

Except for this weekend: Devil's Pool swimmers risk citations in weekend crackdown


The Devils Pool area of the park is disgusting with all the trash left behind by people swimming. If the swimmers just cleaned up their trash no one would care. I am glad that PPD is writing citations.

[FLiP]

lol. so i guess i wont be tubing. thanks everyone.

[Mt. Airy Brewer]

[QUOTE=FLiP;512558]#1 Are you allowed to?
#2 Is the water clean?
#3 Has anyone here ever done it?[/QUOTE

Tubing through a sewer is probably cleaner. Have fun.

[Hal]

#1 Are you allowed to?

Apparently yes,
unfortunately, due to bureaucracy, if you fall off the tube you're expected to drown, no swimming allowed!

• Friends of Wissahickon Frequently Asked Questions
  Q: Can I boat, canoe, or kayak in Wissahickon Creek?
  A: There is no regulation forbidding it, but FOW discourages it. The park has no lifeguards on duty and the creek has variable depths which can be dangerous.
  
  Q: Is it okay to swim in the Creek?
  A: Swimming in any of Philadelphia’s rivers and streams is illegal and dangerous. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health states that swimming and wading is not permitted due to risks of drowning, injury from submerged objects, strong currents, and other hazards. In the past, swimmers at Devil’s Pool have drowned or have been seriously injured.
  

#2 Is the water clean?

Not really.

• Friends of Wissahickon Frequently Asked Questions
  Swimming in Philadelphia creeks and rivers is also a serious health hazard.
  About 90% of the flow in the Wissahickon contains wastewater (treated sewage).
  People and animals risk bacterial and viral disease by swimming or wading in the Wissahickon Creek.
  Swallowing even a small amount of this water exposes a person to parasitic diseases like Giardiasis or ryptosporidiosis,
  with symptoms of cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and fever

#3 Has anyone here ever done it?

Sort of, if you include falling in during a macro invertebrate survey, or kayaking in the very last reach...


Hal

[tintin19119]

Except for this weekend: Devil's Pool swimmers risk citations in weekend crackdown


The Devils Pool area of the park is disgusting with all the trash left behind by people swimming. If the swimmers just cleaned up their trash no one would care. I am glad that PPD is writing citations.

I agree with you 100%. This is coming from someone who use to swim in Devils Pool as a teen.It breaks my heart when I hike pass Devils Pool now. Low life spray painting on rocks , trash laying around. Growing up,we always had a respect for Valley Green.

[NWPhillyRealtor]

I have tubed and canoed several times with this outfit in Point Pleasant and it is a lot of fun and a reasonably priced way to cool off on a hot summer day. Good smallmouth bass fishing too if you do the canoing

And much cleaner water


Bucks County River Country:rivercountry.net