Bedford County
The Bedford County Conservation District has expanded its conservation equipment fleet with the addition of an Interseeder, providing local farmers with another tool to improve soil health, protect water quality, and enhance long-term crop productivity.
The Interseeder is designed to plant cover crops directly into growing row crops, allowing producers to establish vegetation earlier in the season.
Franklin County
In April, the Franklin County Conservation District partnered with the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), and the Borough of Mercersburg to complete a stream habitat restoration of the Johnston Run, a warm-water fishery.
This 675-foot stretch of stream, which lies adjacent to the Johnston Run Streamside Trail, had highly eroded steep banks which were contributing to a decrease in water quality as well as a decrease in ecosystem health.
Lancaster County
Meaningful water quality improvements rarely happen through a single project. They are built over time through collaboration, commitment, and continued investment. A Warwick Township livestock farm offers a powerful example.
For more than a decade, the farm has worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lancaster County Conservation District, TeamAg, Inc., and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to implement conservation practices that protect water quality while improving the farm’s operations.
Lancaster County
Lancaster Clean Water Partners recently celebrated a major milestone: more than 100 organizations working together toward clean and clear water by 2040. The growing network brings together partners from agriculture, local government, conservation, education, business, nonprofits, and other sectors.
Lancaster County’s water challenges are too complex for any one organization to solve. Each partner brings different expertise, resources, relationships, and perspectives to the work of protecting and restoring Lancaster County’s approximately 1,400 miles of streams.
Snyder County
The Northcentral Stream Partnership recently wrapped up a streambank stabilization project in Snyder County.
Here, the landowner owns nearly half a mile of Susquehecka Creek, where erosion had taken a serious toll on the streambank. In some places, there was nearly a six-foot drop from the top of the bank to the stream below.
The Snyder County Conservation District and Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy combined grant funds to address the entire stretch of stream for the landowner.
Tioga County
In April, approximately 60 people assisted with a volunteer planting on 200 acres of the Fallbrook mine reforestation site. This project will prevent the increased runoff as well as increase the evapotranspiration as the vegetation matures into a functioning forest ecosystem.
The native plants and trees that were used for this project will allow the area to return to the forest cover type that existed prior to mineral extraction.
A key aspect of the project was the ability to work with both public and private landowners cooperatively to re-establish the forest in an unfragmented state.
York County
In partnership with Hanover Borough and the Borough of Hanover Stormwater Authority, two unnamed tributaries to Slagle Run have been restored.
This project was supported with funding from the York County Stormwater Consortium and the York CAP grant.
The project work included the removal of approximately 3,500 cubic yards of legacy sediment and other historic fills from the floodplain, restoring of approximately three acres of natural/historic wetlands, and restoring of approximately 1,665 linear feet of unnamed tributaries to Slagle Run.
York County
The York County Rail Trail Authority’s project to restore the Oil Creek floodplain along the Hanover Trolley Trail in Heidelberg Township has earned a 2026 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence.
The Oil Creek project was completed in coordination with the York County Conservation District and York County Planning Commission, as part of work to construct a new section of the rail trail. As a result of the project, approximately 3,800 linear feet of stream channel in the Oil Creek was restored, creating 11 acres of wetlands.
York County
Congratulations to York County on winning the National Association of Counties 2026 Achievement Award for its innovative Water Quality Monitoring Program.
The program won the County Resiliency: Infrastructure, Energy, and Sustainability Award. York County is a leader in collaborative water quality improvement to meet federal Chesapeake Bay pollutant reduction requirements through stormwater and agricultural practices.
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Visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed webpage to learn more about cleaning up rivers and streams in Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Click Here to sign up for regular updates on Pennsylvania’s progress.
How Clean Is Your Stream
DEP’s 2026 Water Quality Assessment includes a mapping tool that allows you to check on the status of water quality near you.
Click Here to check how clean your stream is.
(Photos: Row 1-- Franklin County Before/After; Snyder County streambank restoration Before/After; Row 2-- 100 Lancaster Clean Water Partners.;Tioga County reforestation site; York County Slagle Run restoration.)
[Posted: August 31, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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