On October 12 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., representatives from the Schuylkill Action Network will embark on a tour of three Montgomery County sites where innovative improvements in stormwater management are being constructed.

These improvements — known as best management practices— are environmental enhancements that help to reduce the quantity, and improve the quality, of stormwater runoff pollution, a major threat to water quality throughout the 2,000-square mile watershed that includes the City of Philadelphia.

The tour will leave by bus from the parking lot of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area at 140 College Drive in Pottstown, Pa. Highlights of the outing will include BMPs being installed at Norristown Farm Park, Riverbend Environmental Education Center and Brookside County Club — three projects funded in part by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Targeted Watershed Grant awarded to the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary in 2004.

“Policymakers are beginning to realize that stormwater BMPs can have a real effect on water quality,” said Jennifer Adkins, Schuylkill Watershed Initiative Grant coordinator with the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. “Better water quality in the Schuylkill means enhanced habitat, recreational opportunities and drinking water for more than 1.5 million people throughout Southeastern Pa. In other words, it means a better quality of life.”

After the Stormwater BMP Tour, participants and other stakeholders will convene at Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus from 2 to 6 p.m. for a free SAN workshop entitled “Monitoring Matters.” The purpose of this meeting is to review the progress being made by SAN’s five workgroups addressing threats to water quality from abandoned mine drainage, agricultural runoff, pathogens, stormwater runoff and more.

Some attendees will also be learning the skills necessary to design effective monitoring programs for local streams. Others will participate in the development of a strategic approach to water-quality monitoring throughout the Schuylkill River Watershed.

Visitors to SAN’s tour and workshop are also invited to view “Scenes of the Schuylkill,” an art exhibition and sale currently underway at MCCC’s nearby art gallery located at 16 West High Street. The exhibit is being hosted by the SRHA and will conclude with a reception on October 27. Guests will be able to view original works of art featuring natural scenes from throughout the five-county heritage area, including the popular Schuylkill River Trail.

For additional information, directions or to register for the Stormwater BMP Tour, please contact Jennifer Adkins at 800-445-4935, extension 112. For information about SAN’s “Monitoring Matters” workshop, please contact Victoria Lawson of the Delaware River Basin Commission at 609-883-9500, extension 308, or visit www.state.nj.us/drbc . And for more details regarding the art show, please call MCCC’s West Campus Gallery at 484-945-0200.

To learn more about the SAN, please visit www.SchuylkillActionNetwork.org .

10/7/2006