By Matt Ehrhart, PA Director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

As Pennsylvania and the other five Bay states continue planning better ways to manage the increasing stresses on our waterways, and to meet clean water goals, I would like to highlight a handful of communities that are taking proactive, collaborative steps to improve local water quality and community health.

These leaders recognize that clean water is not just a federal requirement, but that it makes good economic sense and promotes more vibrant, livable communities.

Lancaster City is rightfully receiving public applause for its green infrastructure plan, and for its partnership with LIVEGreen, an initiative of the Lancaster County Conservancy, which is assisting with the implementation of the plan.

Lancaster County's "Blueprints," a county-wide Integrated Water Resources Plan, was just approved by county commissioners. An element of the County Comprehensive Plan, the "Blueprints" plan promotes watershed-based, integrated water resources planning and management to protect, conserve, and improve water resources in Lancaster County.

CBF's Pennsylvania Grassroots Organizer Kate Austin works with LIVEGreen staff to promote clean water projects and engage local communities in alternatives to expensive, traditional stormwater projects.

As part of their Community and Streetscape Revitalization Plan, the Borough of Lemoyne (across the river from Harrisburg) chose "greener" curbside rain gardens as an alternative to traditional stormwater infrastructure like grates and pipes. The gardens were designed to transport stormwater, filter out pollutants and debris before reaching the Susquehanna River, and to add aesthetic value to the community.

Shirley Stark, a master gardener and a CBF volunteer, was on the planning committee for the project. You can read more about Shirley in this month's "Watershed Hero" segment on the CBF Blog.

York County just celebrated the 10th year of its "Watershed Weekend," which began as a weekend celebration to increase community awareness of watershed issues. The event, coordinated by the Watershed Alliance of York County, has grown into a variety of community-sponsored events that span over four weekends.

The Watershed Alliance has also taken the lead in forming a county-wide taskforce to "ensure the quality and abundance of freshwater for York County, the Susquehanna River, and the Chesapeake Bay." The workgroup, "Clean Water for York County" is working toward a county plan to restore land and water resources.

And to our north, the Lycoming County Conservation District's motto could be: "Think creatively, think regionally, and plan for the future." In 2008, the county began an integrated, county-based nutrient management strategy for reducing pollution. Its commitment to clean water and healthy communities is making an impact.

A few of the successes of its management strategy: removed more than 20,000 pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus delivered annually to the Bay through the implementation of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs); developed a monitoring project to assess local water quality improvements achieved through those BMPs; netted more than $150,000 in income for Lycoming County farmers through nutrient credit trading through PennVEST; engaged local farmers in no-till by offering no-till equipment rentals; restored floodplains and created wetland wildlife habitats, and many other innovative projects that attest to their commitment to clean water.

Stay tuned to the CBF blog to read more about Lycoming County and its plans for clean water.

These communities understand the importance of proactive, collaborative approaches to achieving our local and regional water quality goals. Clean water is good for us, for our economy, our overall health, for the environment, and for our children's futures.

CBF applauds the work of these communities, and many others, who are committed to achieving clean, healthy, fishable, swimmable waters in Pennsylvania, and we encourage all communities to do the same.

(Reprinted from the Fall issue of Bay Bound from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.)

10/22/2012