Pennsylvania American Water announced the five recipients for its 2007 Environmental Grant Program this week who will share $31,615 in grants.

The grantees include Berks County Conservation District, Hallstead Borough (Susquehanna County), Pennsylvania Environmental Council – Northeast Regional Council, South Park Township (Allegheny County) and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

The American Water Environmental Grant Program supports projects that protect or restore drinking water sources and surrounding watersheds. Recipients were chosen based on criteria ranging from need to community involvement to sustainability.

”We have been extremely pleased with the calibre of projects received in the last three years for this program. Across the state, there are organizations that are making a positive difference everyday in our watersheds,” said Kathy Pape, president, Pennsylvania American Water. “Through American Water’s Environmental Grant Program, we’re investing in these organizations and supporting the people behind their projects—individuals and groups who are looking to the future by improving the sustainability of our water resources today."

The following is a summary of the five projects awarded grants—

Berks County Conservation District: Funding will be used to create an area demonstrating how to protect water sources and the organisms inhabiting them. Part of this includes a Stormwater Best Management Practices Interpretive Trail, presenting both traditional and innovative BMPs of stormwater run-off control. The self-guided trail will show examples of BMPs intended to demonstrate successful infiltration, reduction of peak volume, quality of stormwater reduction, and elimination of stormwater runoff.

Hallstead Borough: The Hallstead Park Bank Stabilization project was created by Hallstead Borough to restore Hallstead Park following the devastating floods in June 2006. Flooding of Salt Lick Creek washed away much of the park, including a pavilion, swings, basketball court, and green areas. The grant will be used to create an effective riparian buffer while stabilizing the creek bank, helping to prevent the park from being affected by future floods. The riparian buffer will consist of native wildflowers and plants, mature trees and shrubs along the creek bank and onto the park property.

Pennsylvania Environmental Council – NE Regional Council: To address illegal dumping and its impact on the environment, Pennsylvania Environmental Council teamed up with the Department of Environmental Protection to create the Cleanup Our American Lands and Streams program. Over the past two years, COALS has grown into a state-wide initiative of public and private partnership to clean up illegal dump sites and protect state watersheds. Grant money will help fund as many as eight COALS cleanups in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties scheduled for fall 2007. The cleanup and restoration of illegal dump sites benefit the residents of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties and those living downstream of the targeted watersheds.

South Park Township: The success of a clean-up effort three years ago has encouraged South Park Township to hold bi-annual clean-ups of its community’s creek beds and banks. The grant will provide the tools needed for this year’s clean-up and provide for the disposal of the trash and tires collected along Piney Fork Creek and Peters Creek.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy: The grant awarded to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy will support a riparian restoration and protection initiative, which will significantly reduce livestock access and agricultural runoff to streams.

The funds will help construct four miles of streambank fencing and to build four stabilized stream crossings in the Neshannock Creek and Big Run watersheds, which are part of the larger Shenango River watershed in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The streambank fencing will beneficially impact the quality of drinking-water source supply by excluding livestock from streams and riparian areas, reducing pollutants in the watershed. Improved source water quality will support survival of two endangered fish and several mussel species.

American Water launched the Environmental Grant Program in January 2005 in Pennsylvania. The success of the pilot program lead American Water to expand the program to include 13 states across the nation.

Pennsylvania American Water is the largest regulated water utility in the state providing quality water and/or wastewater services to over two million people in 373 communities across the state.

For more information on American Water, visit its Environmental Stewardship webpage.

7/20/2007