The Water Resources Education Network announced the award of more than $90,000 in Source Water Protection and Nonpoint Source Pollution/Watershed Education Project Grants.

Funding for the grants is provided by the Department of Environmental Protection for activities that will either address nonpoint source pollution issues on a watershed basis or help protect sources of drinking water.

The following community coalitions from across the state were awarded funds to carry out education projects:

Source Water Protection Education Projects

· Clarion County Conservation District, Clarion County -- $3,020 to transform stormdrains throughout Clarion with stencils and markers and distribute doorhangers to encourage citizens to do their part in curbing stormwater pollution which can harm sources of drinking water like the Clarion River.

· Greater Johnstown Water Authority, Cambria and Somerset Counties -- $5,000 to continue practicing good stewardship of its drinking water sources located throughout the Northfork, Dalton and Saltlick watersheds, with programming for elementary and middle school students about the actions they can take to protect their drinking water.

· McKean County Conservation District, McKean and Potter Counties -- $5,000 to educate residents of McKean and Potter counties about the issue of pharmaceuticals in water supplies, survey health care establishments' current practices regarding pharmaceutical disposal, and explore the feasibility of collaborating with multiple agencies and municipalities in the Upper Allegheny watershed to conduct a household hazardous waste collection.

· Municipal Authority of Boswell Borough, Somerset County -- $5,000 to devise a strategy and train emergency personnel to effectively respond to incidents in the wellhead protection area, post water supply area traffic signs at the boundaries of the wellhead protection area and design and distribute an educational brochure, placemats, "toolboxes" and fact sheets about the Boswell Wellhead protection plan and what residents of the Stoneycreek River watershed can do to protect their water supply.

· Port Allegany Borough, McKean County--$3,400 to enhance emergency response personnel's ability to respond effectively to incidents where Pa. Route 6 and other major roads intersect the wellhead protection area, post water supply area traffic signs at the boundaries of the wellhead protection area, and design and distribute educational placemats and other print materials to promote the protection of the community's drinking water.

· Reading Area Community College, Berks County -- $4,995 to conduct a college-wide, year long "Get Your Fill" campaign aimed at increasing understanding of the Reading Area Water Authority's role in providing safe drinking water to customers in the Maiden Creek/Lake Ontelaunee watershed and to motivate students about the steps they can take to protect their source water while at school and also after graduation.

· Reading Area Water Authority, Berks County -- $5,000 to install 30 drinking water supply area signs on secondary roads throughout the Maiden Creek watershed to raise resident and visitor awareness of source water/drinking water areas and devise a comprehensive “spill response strategy” including education and training for all emergency personnel about the importance of fast response to hazardous substance spills.

· Riverside Center for Innovation, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Greene, Clarion, Butler, Fayette, Armstrong and Washington Counties -- $5,000 to educate and increase awareness of source water protection strategies via three major events aimed at thirty-three drinking water suppliers in the Allegheny, Youghiogheny and Monongahela watersheds in eight southwest Pennsylvania counties.

· Upper Leacock Township, Lancaster County -- $5,000 to facilitate the local emergency response team's efficiency by posting Water Supply Area Signs on all state roads intersecting the wellhead protection area and developing procedures for emergency responder personnel to handle hazardous waste spills that occur near wells located in a carbonate aquifer.

· Warren County Conservation District, Warren County -- $1,322 to purchase a Drinking Water & Wastewater Treatment EnviroScape Model to be used in local schools to demonstrate visually how source water can be impacted by human activities and what steps students and their parents can take to protect the source of their drinking water.

Nonpoint Source Pollution/Watershed Education Projects

· Abrahams Creek Watershed Association, Luzerne County -- $3,342 to develop and distribute an informational brochure, produce a quarterly newsletter, set up a Web site and feature the expertise of local agencies to explain the several nonpoint source pollution issues facing the watershed, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive watershed management plan.

· Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, Erie County -- $3,200 to educate school students, outdoor organizations and civic groups, and visitors to Erie about nonpoint source pollution such as urban runoff and malfuntioning septic systems by using a historic wooden war canoe as a "mobile classroom", launching a professionally designed website, distributing related print information, and designing teacher education packets.

· Earth Force, Inc. dba Lake Erie - Allegheny Earth Force, Erie County -- $5,000 to engage the youth of the area to write watershed protection articles for several local publications, make presentations at at least five public venues, and inspiring and recruiting watershed residents to become active in the International Coastal Cleanup and the Great PA Cleanup, thereby taking a leadership role in raising awareness about the nonpoint source pollution impacting the McDannell Run watershed.

· Friends of the Nescopeck, Luzerne, Schuylkill, Columbia Counties -- $4,312 to design and distribute an eight-page full color newspaper insert alerting residents of Nescopeck Creek Watershed the effects of their activities on the health of the watershed and what they can do to minimize negative impacts; the insert will also encourage residents to support efforts to minimize abandoned mine drainage, manage stormwater properly, and respond appropriately to development pressures.

· Hallstead Borough, Susquehanna County -- $3,140 to exhibit a working rainbarrel display on four well visited municipal properties; and hold a rain barrel workshop to instruct attendees of the North Susquehanna River Watershed Assocation how nonpoint source pollution such as stormwater runoff can be controlled on the homeowner's property with rain barrels and raingardens, and in the larger community though other best management practices such as green roofs and increasing the amount of pervious surfaces.

· Jefferson County Conservation District, Jefferson County -- $3,100 to develop educational print materials, a display, and placemats aimed at educating residents of the County about steps they can take to reduce nonpoint source pollution and to make a presentation Township Supervisors Convention about the practices that municipal employees can adopt to reduce the impacts of NPS in the North Fork and other watersheds in Jefferson County.

· Jenkintown Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), Montgomery County -- $2,530 to produce a quarterly flyer for borough residents identifying specific actions residents can take to protect the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford from the negative effects of nonpoint source pollution and hold a screening of some films related to protecting the environment.

· Nether Providence Township, Delaware County -- $5,000 to install and promote two demonstration raingardens on municipal properties and produce and distribute printed materials to residents explaining how to install their own rain garden and other watershed protection activities they can that will protect the Crum Creek and Ridley Creek.

· Pennsylvania Resources Council, Allegheny County -- $5,000 to deliver ten Watershed Awareness/Rain Barrel Workshops in Allegheny County with the goal of raising awareness and promoting action regarding issues such as nonpoint source pollution, combined sewer overflows and other sources of human impact plaguing the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio River Watersheds.

· Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Montgomery, Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Counties -- $5,000 to educate Home Owner Associations in Limerick Township about the benefits of properly maintaining stormwater management facilities and develop a set of recommendations that can be distributed to and used by a municipality to encourage or compel HMOs to properly maintain stormwater basins, thereby improving water quality, adding critical habitat and saving the Home Owner Associations money.

· Ridge & Valley Streamkeepers, Bedford County -- $3,500 to coordinate planting work crews and conduct a hands-on workshop to emphasize the benefits of forested buffers for the Sideling, Fifteen Mile, and Town Creeks, followed by a guided planting by the workshop attendees; a website willl publicize the project and further educate visitors to the site and the region about steps they can take to minimize nonpoint source pollution of these watersheds.

· Tobyhanna Creek/Tunkhannock Creek Watershed Association, Monroe County -- $1,880 to produce and distribute a restaurant placemat aimed at residents of Kidder Township and the surrounding area with information about solutions to problems associated with urban runoff and acceptable effective alternatives pesticide application, thereby minimizing the negative impacts of these nonpoint sources of pollution.

· Warrington Township, Bucks County -- $4,997 to 1) demonstrate The Healthy Yards Initiative by naturalizing a detention basin on the property of a public and highly visible business that sits next to the Little Neshaminy Creek and 2) conduct homeowner property assessments, recommending healthy yard practices like storm water management, improved wildlife habitats, removal of invasive species and planting native vegetation on residential properties within the Township. The project also includes a "Healthy Yard" poster or brochure contest for fifth grade students in the Township schools.

For more information, visit the Water Resources Education Network website or contact Sherene Hess, WREN Project Director, 724-465-4978 or send email to: sherenehess@yourinter.net .

6/13/2008