Residents of the Conestoga Watershed in Lancaster County got a first-hand experience in trading water pollution credits at a special workshop on August 17.

The workshop featured the online water credit demonstration website NutrientNet that provides users with a better understanding of the water credit concept.

This training program was funded in part by the Growing Greener Watershed Restoration Program.

NutrientNet, created by the World Resources Institute and developed with the help of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, provides a vehicle for buyers and sellers of water pollution credits to perform trades for both point and non-point sources.

NutrientNet is designed to serve the following functions: 1) provide potential market participants and other stakeholders with background information on nutrient trading; 2) provide trading participants with tools for estimating releases of nutrients to surface waters from their operations, exploring reduction options, and estimating the costs of achieving reductions; 3) help market participants identify potential trading partners; and 4) track the volume and type of trades within a watershed.

You may participate in a mock trading system in the Potomac watershed by going to www.NutrientNet.org .

The Conestoga Watershed project is a collaboration with The Conservation Fund, DEP, LandStudies, Penn State University and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

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