The Water Resources Education Network (WREN) Project, a project of the League
of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund, Friday announced 22 community partnerships across the Commonwealth have been awarded a share of grant funds totaling $68,720.
The WREN Project has two clean water initiatives: Watershed Education to prevent polluted runoff to waterways, and Source Water Protection Education to raise awareness about the importance of protecting public drinking water sources, including groundwater and surface water from contamination.
Eleven partnerships will complete their Source Water Protection project work by June 30, 2014. The remaining 11 grant recipients will carry out grass-roots community water education projects between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.
Watershed Education Grants
Eleven Watershed Education Projects totaling $47,720 were awarded funding for activities focusing on improving watersheds by reducing nonpoint source water pollution. Funding for NPS education projects is made available by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Nonpoint Source Management Program through Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The 11 grantees selected for funding under the 2014-2015 WREN Watershed Education Grant Program are listed below--
— Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association, Delaware County - Making the Most of Demonstration Rain Gardens: Connecting Residents with ‘How-to’ Information, $5,000: The partners will hold two community rain garden workshops to encourage homeowners in Media Borough and Nether Providence Township to install rain gardens as a way to beautify their properties, reduce polluted runoff and contribute to a healthier environment using native plants. Partners will design two interpretive signs to be installed at two highly-visible demonstration rain gardens previously completed by CRC. The signs, equipped with QR codes, will link to new rain garden how-to materials at the CRC website, to be developed with assistance from the municipal environmental advisory councils (EACs). A sign dedication ceremony is planned and a variety of social media tools will be used, including a "Share Your Rain Garden" button on the new website. An evaluation plan with surveys will be developed to measure increased knowledge among participants about stormwater management. Partners are: Aqua Pennsylvania, Media Borough, Nether Providence Borough.
— Conyngham Borough, Luzerne County - NPS, Stormwater, AMD and Related Issues: A Collaborative Project Between Conyngham Borough and Residents Aimed at Awareness, Knowledge and Action, $4,600: The partners will engage and educate public officials and residents about solutions to nonpoint source pollution and acid mine drainage (AMD) through two workshops, tours for local officials of the Jeddo Mine tunnel, construction of a demonstration rain garden on borough property to share best management practices, installation of five rain barrels at selected Borough buildings, and establishment of a resource center for AMD, stormwater solutions and BMP maintenance at the municipal building. The success of the project will be measured in terms of participation, including questionnaires and online surveys. Partners are: onyngham Borough, Friends of the Nescopeck.
— Covenant Community Corporation, Dauphin County - Clean Water Harrisburg: Awareness to Action, $4,600: The Partners will conduct a minimum of six workshops focusing on polluted runoff and combined sewer overflows in the city of Harrisburg, as well as information about cost-effective green infrastructure approaches to help reduce the problem. The partners will develop a suite of complementary printed and internet-based resources to manage and pay for community-based green infrastructure projects. The target audience for the project includes, but is not limited to, the City of Harrisburg’s Public Works Department; the Harrisburg City Council; city neighborhood groups; faith-based institutions and business and nonprofit associations located within the service area of Capital Region Water. The partners will teach and facilitate the efforts of their target audiences to incorporate simple green infrastructure best management practices on their properties and in their neighborhoods. Project evaluation will involve pre- and post-surveys to gauge increased understanding and changes in attitudes and behaviors among community members. Partners are: City of Harrisburg, Capital Region Water, Harrisburg Rain Barrel Coalition, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Paxton Creek Watershed and Education Association.
— Haverford Township Parks and Recreation, Delaware County - Haverford Reserve Storm Water Education and Rain Garden Installation Project, $4,185: The partners will conduct two rain garden workshops and planting sessions at the Haverford Reserve and produce printed and audio/visual materials to encourage and help promote the goal of the installation of 100 rain gardens during the next 10 years in the Township. Haverford officials and residents participating in the project will form a core group that will provide the expertise needed to reach this Township-wide goal of using rain gardens to improve infiltration, reduce polluted runoff and create beautiful, native gardens that achieve multiple goals and reduce sediment pollution to the Darby-Cobbs Watershed. Partners will assess project results through an evaluation plan. The Partners are: Delaware County Conservation District, Delaware County Master Gardeners, Haverford Township Environmental Advisory Committee, Eastern Delaware County Stormwater Collaborative
— Hughesville Borough, Lycoming County - Storm Water Drains Identification and Marking, $2,885: The partners will identify and mark the stormwater drain systems in the borough to raise awareness among emergency responders, businesses, residents and municipal officials about the direct connection between storm drains and streams, and that contaminants from a hazardous spill may pass through the drains, directly to local streams and threaten water quality. Partners will use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to map the stormwater system, and generate wall-mounted maps for emergency response. Door hangers will be created with information about protecting the watershed and what to do in the event of a hazardous spill, and will be distributed by the mayor and members of the borough council to every residence in the borough. Presentations will be made to the borough council, fire department and water authority to familiarize them with the new drain marking system and the need for stormwater protection. An evaluation will be completed to determine increased understanding among community members. The partners are: Hughesville Council, Hughesville Borough Water Authority, Hughesville Volunteer Fire Company.
— Indiana County Conservation District - Indiana County Stormwater Education Partnership, $4,750: Collaborating with ongoing county efforts, this project will address the pollution effects of stormwater runoff by holding a stormwater education and management workshop featuring recognized experts. Aimed at municipal and county officials and engineers in and around Indiana County, the workshop will feature the benefits of existing rain gardens and water friendly practices, as well as provide additional resources to municipal officials and staff to encourage the development and installation of innovative stormwater management practices in their own municipalities. The partners will create two interpretive rain garden signs to be installed at existing rain gardens in highly-visible areas. Project evaluation will involve pre- and post-surveys and evidence of progress toward enacting stormwater regulations on a local level. The partners are: : Indiana County League of Women Voters, White Township Supervisors, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, Indiana Community Garden (ICG), Evergreen Conservancy
— Penn’s Corner RC&D Council, Penn’s Corner Conservancy and Charitable Trust, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland Counties - Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater Management, $4,700: The partners will revise Lancaster County’s publication The Homeowner’s Guide to Stormwater, for a southwestern Pennsylvania audience. The partners will produce 7,500 copies of the 26-page Guide as well as an electronic version that will be distributed among municipalities by Conservation Districts in a nine-county area. The new Guide will be used as an educational tool for homeowners in southwestern PA in order to foster a more active role in managing stormwater generated on their properties, rather than allowing the runoff to increase pressure on the existing infrastructure. Project partners and conservation districts will track distribution of the Guide to the municipalities in order to note where additional requests for information are received and what additional information is needed for homeowners. The partners are: Westmoreland County Conservation District, Westmoreland County (Department of Planning and Development), Penn State Cooperative Extension, Allegheny County Conservation District, City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County – County Executive’s Office.
— Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council, Delaware County - Township Building Educational Rain Garden Construction and Workshop, $3,000: The partners will construct demonstration rain gardens on the grounds of the Radnor Township Municipal Building. Educational signage will be installed at the site to provide information on the area’s watershed, the importance of protecting water quality and best management practices to mitigate pollution and run-off. An educational workshop will be held to educate Township residents about how ‘green infrastructure’ projects, such as rain gardens, can provide natural solutions to reduce runoff volume and improve runoff water quality. Rain garden information and a video of the educational workshop will be posted on the Township’s “Green Radnor” webpage to expand access. Evaluation strategies will assess short-term, medium and long-term impacts correlated to the Township's Comprehensive Stormwater Management Study. The partners are: : Radnor Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), Radnor Township, Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (Villanova University), Audubon, PA, Darby Creek Valley Association, The Radnor Conservancy, Radnor Bird Town, Memorial Library of Radnor Township, Chanticleer Gardens, Wayne Art Center
— Schuylkill Headwaters Association, Inc., Schuylkill County - Blue Mountain Green Vision: Planting Rain Gardens for Community Change, $5,000: The partners will conduct the first collaborative stormwater best management project of its kind in Schuylkill County to engage residents in the Borough of Orwigsburg and surrounding communities. They will work with 20 Blue Mountain School District Green Club high school students to plan the retrofit of an existing stormwater retention basin into a rain garden upstream from a deeply eroded swale. Installation of the new rain garden will be done by 250 middle school students from the district using 5,000 native plants. Educational signage will be created and installed by students and the Orwigsburg Lions Club to inspire residents to take action by installing rain gardens on their own properties. Partners will conduct a Community Information Session about stormwater solutions along with a student-led tour of the rain garden. The project will be evaluated using pre- and post-surveys. The partners are: Orwigsburg Borough, Blue Mountain School District, Orwigsburg Lions Club, Schuylkill Conservation District
— Tioga County Conservation District - Tioga County Source Water Protection NPS Media Outreach, $4,000: Partners will create two 3-minute videos on non-point source pollution and what local communities can do to protect and enhance the most valuable natural resource – water. Officials from municipalities and local watershed groups will be interviewed for the videos. The partners plan to release the videos through social media, local municipal and county websites and the local TV station, as well as use them during the local Fair, in the Tioga Countryside Council film series and at educational venues. The project’s goal is to build connections between the local water suppliers, municipalities and residents in order to increase best management practice installations throughout Tioga County, including increased use of rain barrels, rain garden installations and more participation from municipalities in the County’s Dirt and Gravel Road program. The partners are: Tioga County Planning Commission, Tioga County Source water Protection Coalition.
— Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties - Backyards with Benefits: Protecting Your Creek While Beautifying Your Property, $5,000: Project Partners will engage streamside property owners to attend a stream buffer workshop, design and plant five riparian buffers on selected creekside residential properties with the help of volunteers. Other streamside property owners will later be invited to an ‘open yard’ tour showcase featuring educational information and encouraged to install riparian buffers on their properties. Educational materials on backyard healthy stream practices will be distributed and a variety of social marketing tools such as "clean stream pledges" will be used. Evaluations will be conducted to obtain information about barriers preventing homeowners from implementing a riparian buffer. The partners are: Cheltenham Township, Cheltenham Environmental Advisory Council.
Source Water Grants
Eleven partnerships have been awarded Source Water Protection (SWP) Opportunity Grants to help conduct drinking water protection initiatives in their regions. The grant funds total $21,000 for Source Water Protection projects being completed by June 30, 2014.
Funding for the SWP Opportunity Grants is made available by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Source Water Protection Program through Section 1452 (State Revolving Loan Fund for Drinking Water Source Water Protection) of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996.
The 11 partnerships selected for funding under the 2014-2015 WREN Source Water Protection Opportunity Grant Program are listed below--
— Central Pennsylvania Source Water Alliance for Protection Coalition, Centre County, $1,075: The SWP Opportunity Grant enabled the Central PA Source Water Allliance for Protection to conduct its Clean Water Days drinking water education outreach efforts with schools in Centre/Clearfield County.
— West Branch Regional Authority on behalf of the North Central Source Water Protection Alliance, Lycoming County, $2,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the West Branch Regional Authority on behalf of the new nonprofit NCSWP Alliance to assist a number of Lycoming County public water systems to update their SWP plan mapping into a Geographic Information System (GIS), update potential sources of contamination, produce updated SWP plans and develop and print public educational flyers.
— West Branch Regional Authority on behalf of the North Central Source Water Protection Alliance, Lycoming County, $2,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the North Central Source Water Protection Alliance to incorporate as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, create a web page for NCSWPA and provide public education materials for distribution to local water systems.
— Williamsport Municipal Water Authority, Lycoming County, $1,380: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the WMWA to acquire an Enviroscape® model as a teaching aid for use at the Waterdale Environmental Education Center, a facility that the WMWA is developing at its Water Filtration Plant known as the Waterdale Lodge, in a historic building. The model will help to illustrate the types of contaminants and pollution that can occur in a watershed if not controlled by good land use practices and best management practices. WMWA wants to stress the importance of maintaining and protecting the Mosquito Creek, Hagermans Run and Lycoming Creek watersheds, which are the sources of Greater Williamsport's drinking water supplied by the WIlliamsport Municipal Water Authority.
— Tioga County Conservation District on behalf of the Tioga Source Water Protection Coalition, $1,800: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the Tioga County Source Water Protection Coalition to map potential sources of contamination, source water protection areas, improve emergency response coordination and update source water protection plans. In addition, the grant will assist the Tioga County Source Water Coalition to raise awareness with display materials for drinking water public education.
— Denver Borough, Lancaster County, $1,450: The SWP Opportunity Grant will assist Denver Borough with implementation of a stream monitoring and data collection program in the Cocalico Creek Watershed source water area and assist Ephrata Borough, which has an intake on the Creek. Results will be shared with conservation groups and the public in newsletters and online.
— Chiques Creek Watershed Alliance, Lancaster County, $500: Funds from the SWP Opportunity Grant will be used for outreach at the annual Watershed Expo on June 14, 2014 to promote public drinking water education. The event will also include a groundwater model demonstration and other activities.
— Berks County Water and Sewer Association – Albright College, $1,000: The BCW&SA will work with its water system providers to identify critical locations for the placement of Drinking Water Spill Response signs along area roadways.
— Berks County Water and Sewer Association – Albright College, $1,575: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the BCW&SA to acquire an Enviroscape® Water &
Wastewater Treatment model as a teaching aid for municipal education training, school field trips, in the classroom and as a display at the BCW&SA annual conference. The model will help to illustrate the types of contaminants and pollution that can occur in a watershed if not controlled by good land use practices and best management practices.
— Berks County Water and Sewer Association – Albright College, $1,500: The SWP Opportunity Grant will fund the following: print, mail, analyze data and prepare updated
Source Water Protection Area maps of Berks systems to show the locations of critical Source Water Protection Areas. This information will be presented to municipal officials, water and sewer providers and emergency personnel at the BCW&SA annual Conference.
— Creswell Heights Joint Authority, Beaver County, $1,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will enable the CHJA to continue educational efforts to the Authority’s
constituents through distribution of brochures outlining source water contaminants and ways to prevent such pollutants.
— Cambria County Conservation District, $1,720: The SWP Opportunity Grant will allow the CCCD to purchase and install a stream data logger for the main feeder stream to the GJWA Dalton Reservoir. The data logger, and the data it provides, will further the collaborative efforts between Greater Johnstown Water Authority, CCCD, Stonycreek/Little Conemaugh SWP Coalition and the Stoneycreek River Improvement Project (SCRIP).
— Cambria County Conservation District, $1,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will allow the CCCD to begin implementation of a program to treat the nest and egg population of Canada Geese at the Dalton Reservoir, to reduce or remove the chemical hazard caused by the geese.
— Borough of Monaca, Beaver County, $1,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will allow the Borough to install t Pet Waste collection stations, Watershed Protection Signs at parks in the watershed area and distribute educational cards focusing on water pollution and health risks of pet waste. The Borough manager will also develop a community awareness campaign at the Borough’s website and highlight the issue in the Borough’s newsletters.
— Vanport Township Municipal Authority, Beaver County, $2,000: The SWP Opportunity Grant will assist the VTMA with the purchase of Enviroscape and groundwater models to be shared with public water systems in Beaver County as a teaching aid for use in public education efforts about land use risks to public water supplies.
WREN is a nonpartisan informal collaboration of organizations and public officials working for the protection and management of Pennsylvania’s water resources, through grass-roots education and informed policy-making.
WREN provides training and grants that support community coalitions raising public awareness of water resources. WREN projects empower communities to take action and develop and implement public policies to protect Pennsylvania water resources.
For more information, visit the Water Resources Education Network website.
