The Middle Spring Watershed Association recently installed a streambank restoration project along Middle Spring Creek next to a Shippensburg area youth baseball field in Franklin County.

The project was funded by a $58,000 EPA Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management grant from DEP. Middle Spring Creek is a tributary to the Conodoguinet Creek, which drains to the Susquehanna River and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

The project is estimated to reduce 5.5 tons of sediment a year to improve water quality.

Based on a Fish and Boat Commission design plan, construction included installing four log vane deflectors and three stretches of mudsill cribbing to reduce streambank erosion and sedimentation.

Construction was completed on August 30; the next day, remnants of Hurricane Ida brought central Pennsylvania heavy, flood-producing rains totaling between 4 – 7 inches.

Ida left behind significant flooding across the Susquehanna Valley.

Back at the ballfield, the restoration project performed well during the storm. MSWA will finish the project later this year by planting a riparian forest buffer and installing educational signage.

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and more, visit the Middle Spring Watershed Association website.

October Is Buffer Month!

Penn State Extension is joining the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, who declared October as Riparian Buffer Month, as an opportunity to build awareness and familiarity of forested riparian buffers while sharing the applicability of these sustainable practices in a variety of settings.  Read more here.

PA Chesapeake Bay Plan

For more information on Pennsylvania’s plan, visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Office webpage.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.

(Reprinted from the latest DEP Healthy Waters newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.)

Related Articles:

-- Penn State Extension: Hurricane Ida’s Impact On Spring Creek Forested Buffer In Dauphin County

-- Lancaster, York Center For Water Quality Excellence Hosts Open House Sept. 30

-- Penn State Extension: Help Celebrate Riparian Buffer Month In October!

-- DEP’s September Health Waters Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan Update 

[Posted: September 27, 2021]

10/4/2021