Our Watershed

Understanding our geography and history

What is a watershed? A watershed is an area of land where all of the water that drains off of it goes into the same place: a stream, river, lake, or ocean. Any rain that falls on the map will eventually flow into the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Creek, and then the Delaware River. The Delaware River is the source of half of the drinking water for Philadelphia!

Our 30 square mile watershed begins in Montgomery County, where the main stem is called the Tookany. The creek’s five main tributaries join Tookany Creek, which becomes Tacony Creek as it flows into Philadelphia at Cheltenham Avenue. At the Juniata Golf Course, where the Wingohocking Creek once joined the Tacony, the name finally changes to Frankford. The Frankford Creek flows into the Delaware River south of the Betsy Ross Bridge. That’s why we call it the TTF.

The names Tookany and Tacony come from the Lenni Lenape word tèkëne, meaning woods or wilderness. The Lenni Lenape were the indigineous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who were pushed out of their homeland by disease, famine, and war brought by European colonists.

You may notice there are no streams in the Philadelphia portion of the map! This is because as Philadelphia was developed, virtually all of the city’s creeks were diverted into pipes and now flow within the sewer system. Most of the sewers in the TTF are combined, carrying sewage and polluted runoff from streets, parking lots, and other paved areas. During heavy rains, these pipes often empty into our creeks. This is why our work is so important.