Engineered Rock Cross Vane, Big Bear Creek, Lycoming County

Several exciting projects were recently completed by The Lycoming College Clean Water Institute and the Keystone Stream Team.

Institute staff created a website for the Keystone Stream Team where visitors can access information on Natural Stream Channel Design and Fluvial Geomorphology. The website contains news, general information, documents, databases, and job opportunities in these areas. Membership with the Keystone Stream Team is also available through the website. The project was funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 319(b) grant administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

One of the KST databases contains reference reach data for use by private consultants and engineers who specialize in stream restoration design. Working jointly with RIVERMorph software engineers, an online Reference Reach Repository was developed to accept upload and download of reference reach data files in various formats. Visitors can access the database through the Keystone Stream Team website and can create a personalized account to access features of the database.

Institute Staff are also collecting stream restoration project data for an online database of Natural Stream Channel Design projects in Pennsylvania. Currently the database contains projects from throughout north-central and south-central regions of Pennsylvania, but through a new Growing Greener grant awarded to Lycoming College, the database will be expanded to the entire state. The NSCD database can be easily accessed from the Keystone Stream Team website.

Since April 2007, the Keystone Stream Team technical advisory workgroup has been revising the Natural Stream Channel Design Guidelines for Pennsylvania Waterways. This important document was first published in 2003 and was intended to provided watershed associations and stream designers with guidance for planning and implementing stream restoration using natural channel design technology. As the technology has changed and practical experience gained, the manual became outdated and was in need of substantial revision.

Funded by a Growing Greener grant awarded to Lycoming College, the workgroup expects to have the guidelines thoroughly-revised and available for distribution in April 2007. The current version of the guidelines is available for download from the Keystone Stream Team website.

The Keystone Stream Team was founded in 1999 for the purpose of advancing Natural Stream Channel Design technology in Pennsylvania. Through its diversified membership, consisting of watershed groups, technical consultants, and state and federal agencies, KST has formulated general guidelines for applying this new technology, with the goal of returning Pennsylvania streams and watersheds to a natural, self-sustaining state.

The mission of the Keystone Stream Team is to work together as a resource team to foster an understanding of the use of Natural Stream Channel Design by acting as a source of educational information, technical guidance, training, as well as input on the measure of success for projects that restore streams and watersheds in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Mel Zimmerman, Lycoming College Professor of Biology, is the current chairman of the KST. Dr. Peter Petokas, Lycoming College Research Associate, serves as webmaster and coordinator of projects. KST meetings are generally held about three times each year and are open to the public.

For more information, visit the Keystone Stream Team website, or send an email to info@keystonestreamteam.org

1/19/2007