04/15/24 - 66 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/msuwtctm
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ClearWater Conservancy Awarded DEP Grant To Improve Spring Creek Headwaters
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ClearWater Conservancy has been awarded a Department of Environmental Protection Growing Greener Grant for $37,778 to improve water quality in the headwaters of Spring Creek by reconstructing a section of Sharer Road in Harris Township susceptible to washing out during high water.
The road is owned by Harris Township and intersects Spring Creek between the Nittany and Oelberman farms. Construction work will take place this summer.
“The issue is that when the creek rises during heavy rains, it overruns the road, which is not paved, but gravel, and washes that gravel and sediment from the road into Spring Creek. That affects the water quality in a narrow and fragile part of the headwaters and we would like to stop that,” said Katie Ombalski, conservation biologist at ClearWater Conservancy.
The section of road that intersects the creek has been redesigned by the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies at Penn State University to withstand high water without washing out or adding sediment to the creek.
“The new road will have designed-in flow relief that the average traveler will probably never notice, but will make the road more durable and more environmentally sound,” said Tim Ziegler, field operations specialist at the Center.
A new system of pipes will carry the stream under the road during normal conditions. During floods, the road itself is designed to act as a spillway. A subtle low spot in the center will draw high water gently over a 50-foot section of reinforced road, allowing the water to pass without backing up into the surrounding fields or destroying the road, Ziegler said.
Additional measures will disconnect several roadside drainage ditches, including one from nearby Route 322, which currently dump straight into Spring Creek, and redirect that water to nearby low areas where it can slowly percolate into the ground, Ziegler said.
Riparian buffers plantings will be installed upstream and downstream of Sharer Road through cooperation with the adjoining Oelbermann and Nittany farms to further protect the waterway.
In addition to the Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads, the Oelberman and Nittany farms, and Harris Township, a host of partners will contribute to the project: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided site surveys, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Nittany Farm will aid in establishing the riparian buffers, Harris Township will provide heavy equipment and operators and WHM, Inc. will provide additional survey and permitting services.
A portion of a previously awarded $150,000 Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide additional funding for the project. Additional grant funding will be applied for through the Dirt and Gravel Road Program.
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2/28/2011 |
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