Schuylkill River Greenways, Partners To Announce Schuylkill River Restoration Fund Grants For 7 Projects Totaling $330,000 On Sept. 17

The Schuylkill River Greenways, Schuylkill Action Network, Exelon Generation, Delaware River Basin Commission, Philadelphia Water Department, Aqua Pennsylvania, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protection will hold an event and tour on September 17 in Philadelphia to announce the recipients of this year’s Schuylkill River Restoration Fund grants.

The event will include a tour of the agricultural conservation projects at Northwestern Stables.  Click Here to register for the tour.

Grants Awarded

The devastating impacts of Hurricane Ida showed the need for restoration projects along local waterways. Towns, homes and businesses near rivers, creeks and streams experienced extreme flooding.

The Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area continues to address this need with the distribution of $337,500 in grants this year.

The seven projects being awarded are in Schuylkill, Berks, Montgomery, Chester and Philadelphia Counties. The projects will improve water conditions through activities such as streambank fencing, mine drainage, and native plant installations to improve areas prone to flooding.

The projects funded include--

-- Berks Nature – Bolton Farm Ag Project (Berks County) $75,000: This project will install agriculture best management practices on the Bolton organic dairy operation, on an unnamed headwater tributary to the Saucony Creek in the Maiden Creek watershed benefiting the water quality and stormwater of the Maiden Creek/Schuylkill River.

-- Berks Nature – Miller Farm Ag Project (Berks County) $95,000: Install streambank fencing, animal stream crossings and waste management facilities on the Miller family dairy operation on an unnamed tributary to Manatawny Creek. This project will improve water quality in both the Manatawny and the Schuylkill River.

-- Delaware Riverkeeper Network – Big Creek Limestone Project (Schuylkill County) $35,000: Mine drainage from the Capparell strip mine will be treated with passive limestone sand additions within a bypass channel to Big Creek. Limestone will reduce acidity, increase pH to biologically tolerable levels, and increase alkalinity within the Big Creek watershed.

-- East Falls Development Corp – Riparian Buffer Project (Philadelphia County) $13,000: This project will improve 2.5 acres of riparian habitat and floodplain along the Schuylkill River in East Falls Philadelphia with riparian native plant species installation, non-chemical invasive plant removal and soil amendments to achieve improved water quality. Additionally, it will promote public education and stewardship with interactive interpretive signage and programming with partnership organizations.

-- East Pikeland Township – Hidden River Park Project (Chester County) $30,000: East Pikeland Townships project will address a riparian corridor revitalization project on open space that will be developed into a park and preserve. The goal is to improve and expand the riparian buffer thereby improving the stormwater system and restoring native habitat. Total project area is 14 acres.

 -- Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited – Camelot Park Project (Montgomery County) $54,000: This project is designed to restore the Upper Perkiomen Creek streambanks, stream channel, and riparian area to improve water quality and the surrounding ecosystem. This work will reduce sediment and other contaminants within a significant section of stream which flows into the Green Lane Reservoir and downstream drinking water intakes.

-- Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy – Stoney Creek Park Project (Montgomery County) $35,500; The Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy and Lansdale Borough have partnered to create a 3,000 square foot rain garden. The garden will feature a subterranean stormwater storage system and Pennsylvania native plants. This garden will be in Lansdale's Stony Creek Park and will be constructed largely by community volunteers. 

The Fund

Since it was established in 2006, the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund has supported 121 environmental projects with an investment of $4.6 million.

“The mission of the fund is to restore natural spaces in order to improve the ecosystem,” said Schuylkill River Greenways Education Director Sarah Crothers. “One of the main causes of major flooding, other than increased amounts of precipitation, is the lack of natural absorbent surfaces.”

Crothers explained man-made surfaces such as concrete don’t soak up water. Natural buffers and landscaping like native trees, shrubs and grasses act as a sponge when it rains.

“The Schuylkill River Restoration fund is made possible by all of our generous partners who recognize the importance of the awarded projects. Once implemented, projects have an immediate positive impact on the watershed,” said Schuylkill River Greenways NHA Deputy Director Tim Fenchel.

Exelon has provided more than $3.1 million to the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund since it was founded; the Philadelphia Water Department has contributed $1.2 million over the past twelve years; Aqua PA has donated more than $225,000; and MOM’s Organic Market has donated approximately $10,000.

For more information on the Fund, visit the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund webpage.

Related Articles:

-- Gov. Wolf: Requests Major Federal Disaster Declaration To Help Recover From $117 Million In Damage From Remnants Of Hurricane Ida

-- After More Than A Decade Of Warnings Significant Funding Was Needed, Floods Are Again Devastating Pennsylvania

[Posted: September 11, 2021] PA Environment Digest