Spring cleaning: Local municipalities awarded watershed clean-up grants
Courtesy of Greg Schaetzle
A stream bank restoration project has been in the works along Back Creek in Saltlick Township since 2018. A recent grant award from the state DEP helped the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy get the project off the ground.
Courtesy of Greg Schaetzle
A turtle sidles away from polluted waters at the Spruell site in Stewart Township, Fayette County. Mine drainage seeps into the waters of Glade Run, which feeds Dunbar Creek.
Courtesy of Greg Schaetzle
Iron seeps from an abandoned mine’s drainage pipe into the waters near State Game Lands 51 in Fayette County. Iron turns the water red and, along with high iron concentrations, the seepage is also high in aluminum and manganese, which make their way into Dunbar Creek.
Courtesy of Greg Schaetzle
Property owners in Saltlick Township lose between three and four feet of stream bank annually, said Schaetzle. Excess sediment flows into Indian Creek, causing nonpoint source pollution.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
North Franklin Township will begin its stream bank restoration project along Chartiers Creek next year. Grant money will fund the project, which includes cutting the creek’s banks at better angles to eliminate runoff pollution.
Spring has sprung, and local conservation organizations are prepping for spring cleaning of local waterways.
Last week, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced recipients of its Growing Greener Plus grant program, which provides funds to restore impaired waterways and protect local waters from nonpoint source pollution.
This year, more than $20 million was awarded to 12 projects in Pennsylvania’s southwest region. Two projects each in Washington and Fayette counties received funding. Greene County also received a grant.
North Franklin Township is using its second Growing Greener grant, in the amount of $262,500, for the construction phase of a stream bank restoration project.
“Basically the goal of the project is that we need to clean up Chartiers Creek,” said Erin Dinch, director of planning and development. “It is considered an impaired stream – not because of chemical pollution, but because of … runoff water.”
Last year, the township was awarded funding for the project’s engineering and permitting.
The township will cut the creek’s banks at a better angle and plant a buffer zone to eliminate runoff pollution. Dinch said the project is still in its permitting phase, but she hopes construction will begin next year.
In Morris Township, construction for the Ten Mile Creek restoration project is slated to begin in 2023. Right now, the Washington County Watershed Alliance is in the developing phase of the project.
“The project is going to include stream-bank restoration to tackle some steep banks and erosion issues,” said Jennifer Dann, watershed specialist for the Washington County Conservation District and treasurer of the WCWA.
“Our hope is it will make it safer so that the edges aren’t crumbling in and (people) can get access to the stream more safely.”
Habitat structures will also be added to the waterway. Locals enjoy fishing Ten Mile Creek during trout season, and Dann said the addition of habitat structures will allow the fish to survive longer in Pennsylvania’s cold waters.
“We’ve been working to get this project off the ground for about a year,” said Dann, noting how valuable grant programs are to conservation efforts. “$156,000 isn’t something that we can easily get through donations. This project wouldn’t have gone forward if we hadn’t got this funding.”
She said WCWA is working with a partner to finalize designs. She hopes to have permitting and bids for construction done this year, so the Ten Mile Creek restoration can begin in 2023.
“We’re really hopeful to see not only the water quality improve … but we also want everyone to enjoy the stream and have access to it,” she said.
The Fayette County-based Western Pennsylvania Conservancy received two grants this year: $30,891 for its Back Creek stream restoration project, and $368,539 for a remediation project in Stewart Township.
Bank erosion in Saltlick Township has begun threatening a private property’s infrastructure, said Greg Schaetzle, watershed manager for the conservancy. The tributary on that property feeds into Indian Creek.
Schaetzle said WPC is in the permitting phase for this bank-restoration project. When construction begins next summer, the bank will be restored and fish habitat structures will be implemented to reduce erosion and improve water quality.
Water quality improvements are also underway in Stewart Township, where the WPC is working with partners on a mine drainage treatment project.
“This site – we call it Spruell – has a history of mine draining impacts,” said Schaetzle, who noted the waterway most impacted by the runoff is Glade Run, which feeds directly into Dunbar Creek.
“The mine draining discharges are adding low PH water, iron, manganese and aluminum to Glad Run,” he said. “Through completing the designs and the completion of the mine drain system, we’re able to neutralize those metals … and improve the water quality.”
The Spruell site is near State Game Land 51, a remote section of Fayette County, but Schaetzle said the waters affected by mine drainage are heavily fished.
“Any efforts that we take collectively to improve the water quality is only going to enhance the recreational value of the stream,” he said.
The acid seep remediation project is currently in its design phase. Once designs are finalized and permits approved, Schaetzle said the WPC and its partners will begin construction of the sixth and seventh drain management treatment systems.
Construction is slated to begin in fall 2023.
The Greene County Conservation District will use its $111,578 grant to complete a stream stabilization and fencing project at Willis Farm in Cumberland Township.
Growing Greener awardees have three years to spend grant funds.