Codorus Creek: How York's 'Inky Stinky' aims to become a swimming, fishing destination

On a warm Easter Sunday, Chip Dykes of York hooked a number of bass from the Codorus Creek. Dykes helps stock a friend's nearby pond and said the Codorus provides an eclectic array of fish to catch.

“I’ve caught largemouth, smallmouth and rock bass. There’s perch in there, and I’ve heard there are walleye here, but I haven’t caught any of those,” he said. “It’s great fishing. A lot of people don’t realize how good of fishing it is.”

Though the fishing is good, how are the fish?

Dykes said he doesn't eat the fish he catches in the creek for a number a reasons – one of which is the questionable water quality. 

“The water is a lot cleaner than what it used to be, but it has a way to go," he said. "But the fish look healthy and they’re real pretty.”

For decades, the Codorus was referred to as the “Inky Stinky.”

The waters were tinted reddish-brown and carried an odor that would make a landfill smell like a field of daisies.

But a lot has changed in the past 20 years. The creek's water quality has improved, and wildlife is coming back.

A $62 million beautification project has been proposed to make the Codorus more walkable, more accessible, better lit and more visually pleasing.

But when the Codorus gets a makeover, will the water quality match the surrounding aesthetics? What is the state of the Codorus, and what does its future look like?

Decades of the 'Inky Stinky'

For decades, many York County residents accepted the Codorus for what it was: an ugly waterway that gave off an odor for miles.

“If you take it back 20 years ago, there was a lot of discoloration of the creek, high chlorine discharges, as well as tannins. It gave it a smell and look to the creek that was really unpleasant,” said Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper.

Through cleanup initiatives and lawsuit settlements, the Codorus now has better water quality and a less pungent scent.

Evgeniadis and others have been testing the creek water, looking for the presence of insects – a sign the creek is improving.

“Bugs are great. For the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of mayflies. And while people may think they’re a nuisance, it’s a sign of improved water quality,” Evgeniadis said. “Mayflies cannot tolerate polluted water. So, when we find them, it’s a great sign.”

Glatfelter and pollution in the Codorus

In 1999, the P.H. Glatfelter Co., which ran a paper mill in Spring Grove, settled a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups, including the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group.

Under the terms of the settlement, the York-based paper company was required to reduce the color of its waste water by 2004. The company also gave $2 million to establish the Codorus Creek Watershed Endowment Fund. The fund supports research, restoration and recreation projects.

In Spring Grove, some called the air and water odors caused by Glatfelter "the smell of money."

“They’ve been the livelihood for thousands of families for around 150 years, which is great. But they’ve also affected tens of thousands of people in a negative way for that amount of time,” said York Mayor Michael Helfrich.

Helfrich was the first Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and has been involved in Codorus cleanup efforts since 1998.

Despite his criticism of Glatfelter, Helfrich applauded the company for its actions in the early 2000s when it implemented the New Century Project, which cut water and air pollution.

“They took a good step,” he said. “They went from being the absolute worst actor in the Codorus watershed to stepping up their game. My vision is not to blame Glatfelter. My vision is to fix this.”

Proposal to avoid waste from getting to the Codorus

Ten years ago, Helfrich proposed that Glatfelter run a discharge pipe straight out to the Susquehanna River.  By doing this, he said, a large amount of polluted water would bypass the Codorus and get diluted in the bigger flow of the Susquehanna.

“Ten percent of the water coming through the city is polluted water from Glatfelter. If you ran a pipe from Glatfelter to the Susquehanna, it would be about .003% of the flow of the Susquehanna. I hate using dilution as the solution to pollution, but, in some cases, this is certainly better than the negative social and economic effects that company has had on the City of York.”

Helfrich said the plan is still feasible today if the mill gets the proper rights of way. When he originally proposed the idea, Helfrich estimated the cost of the pipe project to be approximately $20 million.  Helfrich believes every piece of property between Spring Grove and York City would increase in value if that pipe was installed. In October 2018, Glatfelter completed a sale of its U.S. specialty papers business unit, which included the Spring Grove facility. That facility is now known as Pixelle Specialty Solutions.

"Historically, the Spring Grove mill has considered Codorus Creek to be a valuable natural resource for our community and the papermaking process," Pixelle Specialty Solutions president Tim Hess said in a statement. "Accordingly, we have committed to, invested in, and worked on maintaining water quality to benefit the community and provide hundreds of jobs."

Included in Hess' statement was a timeline of environmental upgrades the Spring Grove mill has made since the 1950s and the company's current commitment to prevent pollution.

He wrote, "Currently, the mill’s environmental policy expresses our commitment to comply with environmental laws and regulations; empower employees to take personal responsibility for environmental performance, audit environmental compliance, and act promptly to take all appropriate corrective and preventative actions."

Though the spotlight has shined on Glatfelter when it comes to pollution of the Codorus, Helfrich said there are many other threats to the creek

“Wastewater plants still have an impact,” Helfrich said. “Most of them are doing a decent job, but people don’t realize that a lot of the chemicals we flush down are not regulated. The filters basically take out the chunks in water and take out the living viruses that are active. But a lot of the chemicals are still getting into the water.”

Helfrich also cited over-fertilization, failure to pick up after pets and stormwater runoff as contributing factors.

York County officials are considering a regional stormwater authority to combat water pollution. 

Current state of the Codorus

The Codorus is on the state's list of impaired and threatened waters. It is listed as impaired for recreational use and aquatic life use. But Evgeniadis has hope that the Codorus can someday find its way off that list.

“It’s going to take all of us to get the creek de-listed. It takes citizens, farmers, construction workers, industries and everyone else in between,” Evgeniadis said.

Although it’s still on the list, is the Codorus safe for swimming and recreational use? And what is the risk of eating a fish caught in the Codorus?

Swimming in the Codorus

With the improved quality of the creek, Evgeniadis said that swimming and other aquatic recreation shouldn't be a major cause for concern. 

Evgeniadis also said he would have no problem canoeing or kayaking in the water.

“I’ve swam in it before,” he said. "I’ve swam in the creek. I’ve snorkeled in this creek, and I have no issues swimming in it.”

Eating fish from the Codorus

Though not a freshwater fish fan, Evgeniadis said people should exercise moderation when eating fish caught in the Codorus.

“It’s suggested that if you will eat fish out of the Codorus, or any other impaired creek, that you don’t eat a lot of it,” he said. “But here and there is fine.”

Helfrich also said he would eat a trout or small catfish from the Codorus.

“My friend caught a brown trout right near my house on the Penn Street bridge, and I cooked it up and it was great,” Helfrich said. “Catfish can still have PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) in them, but a lot of that is concentrated in the fat. So, if you grill it, the fat will drip off and take most of that with it.”

Drinking the Codorus water

Neither Evgeniadis nor Helfrich said they would drink water from the Codorus or any other local waterway.

“I’m obviously not going to drink the water since the creek is impaired,” Evgeniadis said. “More than half of York County streams are impaired.”

“It takes a very foolish person to drink even out of a stream out on the Appalachian Trail,” Helfrich said. “There is animal waste and fecal coliform in it, and you’ll get digestive problems.”

What’s being done and looking ahead

Many experts agree that there is more work to be done to enhance water quality in the Codorus, including social outreach and taking personal responsibility.

“If people are complaining, they have to ask themselves what they are doing to help. There are a lot of organizations you can join to help,” said Jodi Sulpizio, a natural resource educator at Penn State Extension in York and the master watershed steward coordinator for York County.

Her mission is to educate residents on how they affect the local streams and lakes while literally bringing them closer to the water..

“We want to connect kids in the city with the waterway,” Sulpizio said. “If they have a connection, they’ll appreciate it more, and they are more likely to take care of it and be better stewards.”

Evgeniadis is part of the Green Codorus Initiative, which physically removes vegetation along the creek to reduce the need for herbicides.

“The Army Corps of Engineers has the rights to this flood control project, and for them to visually inspect those walls, they spray herbicides on all the creek and banks. We have an agreement that we will chop and trim the vegetation to keep them from spraying,” Evgeniadis said. “We’re keeping chemicals out of the creek and keeping downtown York green rather than seeing dead vegetation.”

Volunteers can sign up to help trim vegetation on the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper website. 

'We would like to see beautification plans come to life'

Without dead vegetation, the creek provides a better area for wildlife, such as ducks, turtles and insects.

On the technical front, Evgeniadis’ and others are working on a fecal coliform bacteria monitoring program that would keep residents informed about whether the creek should be avoided.

“If there are certain times when the creek is unsafe to swim in, we can let the public know. That’s coming soon,” he said.

As the beautification project gains momentum, both Helfrich and Evgeniadis hope the water quality of the creek continues to improve. 

“This should be hand-in-glove," Helfrich said. "The water should get cleaned up and the flood control channel should be improved as well.”

"Right now, it is essentially a ditch. We would like to see those beautification plans come to life. But we also need to keep working with everyone to keep raising the water quality," Evgeniadis said. "We've seen the improvement over the last 20 years. In another 15 years, I'm sure it will improve even more."

More coverage on Codorus Creek, Glatfelter 

• What about the smell? Does the Codorus Creek still stink? (column)
• Pollution:Glatfelter among nation's worst air polluters