The Conowingo Watershed Implementation Plan Steering Committee released an update on efforts to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution related to the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River just below the Pennsylvania-Maryland border.

In 2018, a partnership between the Federal/State Chesapeake Bay Program and a steering committee with members from each of the six Chesapeake Bay watershed states and the District of Columbia developed a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) for the Conowingo Dam.

The partnership divided the responsibility for accounting for additional pollution loads entering the Chesapeake Bay from the Susquehanna River Watershed.

The CWIP’s goal is to reduce 6 million pounds of total nitrogen across the three states within the Susquehanna River Watershed: New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

Each jurisdiction arranges their own nitrogen reduction targets, solicits for projects, and awards funding based on set criteria.

To date, a total of $36 million has been invested across jurisdictions to implement projects totaling 238,710 pounds of total nitrogen reduction.

Click Here for a copy of the update.

Visit the Conowingo WIP Steering Committee webpage for more information.

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 -- Coldwater Heritage Partnership Now Accepting Applications For Coldwater Conservation Grants; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Mariner East/Revolution Pipelines Penalty Settlement Grants  [PaEN]

-- Fish & Boat Commission Funds 5 Watershed Restoration Projects In Lancaster, York Counties Totaling $150,000  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Updates PA Drought Conditions: Berks County Remains In Drought Warning; Drought Watch Lifted In 6 Counties; 27 Counties Remain In Drought Watch  [PaEN]

-- Conowingo Dam Steering Committee Releases Update On Conowingo Reservoir Nutrient Reduction Efforts  [PaEN]  

-- Vote Now! For Chesapeake Bay Foundation Photo Contest Viewers’ Choice Award - Look For Photos From Pennsylvania! [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Karl Blankenship: Farm Conservation Work In Chesapeake Region Hit Hard By Federal Funding Freeze 

-- Courier Times Guest Essay: Federal Funding Freeze For Pennsylvania Farmers Is A Blow To Cleaner Waterways - By Jullia Krall, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Fetterman, McCormick Must Defend Federal Program That Connects Farmers, Food Banks - By Second Harvest Food Bank

-- The Derrick: How A Rainy Day, Finicky Fish Launched A PA Dedicated To Unpaved Roads [Dirt & Gravel Road Program]  [PDF of Article]

-- Penn State College Of Ag Sciences Course Helps Students Plan, Design Conservation Structures On Farms

-- Penn State Extension: May 3 In-Person Workshop On Benefits Of Installing Rain Barrels In  Lancaster County, 10:00 a.m.  [Participants Will Take Home Rain Barrel]

-- TribLive: Western Pennsylvanians Prepare To Capture April Showers In Rain Barrels

-- Central PA Conservancy: April 11-12 Celebrate Letort Spring Preserve Weekend In Cumberland County

-- Republican Herald - Tyler Frantz: What Lies Beneath The Logjam, Including Debris And Vegetation, Benefits Trout Streams

[Posted: April 9, 2025]

4/14/2025