DEP Begins State Water Plan Update With Regional Water Advisory Committee Meetings; Members Needed

DEP’s Office of Water Resources Planning is beginning the process of updating the State Water Plan with a series of regional water resources committee meetings in January and February.

The Plan update, required every five years by Act 220 of 2002, serves as a policy and guidance document providing information, objectives, priorities and recommendations to be considered in a broad range of state, local and private water resource decisions.

The State Water Plan was last updated in 2009.

The goal of the initial meetings is to formally organize the regional water resources committees and begin a discussion of several issues to be examined in the Plan update, including--

-- Impacts of climate change on water resource availability and use and implement applicable strategies included in the 2018 PA Climate Action Plan;

-- Assessment of Stormwater Management Issues and Best Management Practices; and 

-- Discussion of Integrated Water Resources Planning.

Another goal of the Plan update is to review and finalize Critical Area Resource Plans in the Potomac and Ohio regions that were left unfinished during the 2009 update.

Also being developed is a Digital Water Atlas that will make water use information now being collected more accessible to the State Water Planning process, river basin commissions and users of water information statewide, both public and private.

This initial step in the Plan update process is expected to take 1 to 2 years, followed by a more comprehensive analysis of water resources data after the 2020 census becomes available to help identify water resource use issues and opportunities.

Regional Meetings

DEP has scheduled regional water resources committee meetings for--

-- January 14: Delaware Water Resources Regional Committee, DEP Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown. 10:00.

-- January 16: Potomac Water Resources Regional Committee, Adams County Ag Center, 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg. 1:00.

-- January 23: Upper/Middle Susquehanna Water Resources Regional Committee, Ferguson Township Building, 3147 Research Drive, State College. 1:00.

-- January 28: Ohio Water Resources Regional Committee, Westmoreland County Conservation District, 218 Donohoe Road, Greensburg. 10:00.  

-- January 29: Great Lakes Water Resources Regional Committee, Erie County Conservation District, 1927 Wager Road, Erie. 10:00.  

-- February 6-- Lower Susquehanna Water Resources Regional Committee, DEP Southcentral Regional Office, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg. 10:00. 

Committee Members Needed

Each Regional Committee and the Statewide Water Resources Committee has openings for representatives of specific sectors of water users.  The most pressing need is for members of local governments.

Click Here for a list of members needed.  If you are interested, send a letter of interest and resume to Mark Matlock at DEP by email to: marmatlock@pa.gov.  Or call 717-783-2285 with questions.

For more background on the process for updating the Plan, for copies of past Plans and supporting documents, visit DEP’s State Water Plan webpage.  Questions should be directed to Mark Matlock at DEP by calling 717-783-2285 or send email to: marmatlock@pa.gov.

[Posted: January 2, 2020]  www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com