DRBC Participates in Grant Announcement for Schuylkill Watershed Water Quality Improvement Projects

DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini and staff participated in the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund (SRRF) awards ceremony on September 17, 2015, which announced the distribution of over $274,000 to various water quality improvement projects throughout the Schuylkill River Watershed.

The ceremony took place at the Beth and David Rice Dairy Farm, Kempton, Pa., which was awarded SRRF grant monies in 2014 to implement best management practices for agriculture and stormwater control, including improved manure storage, a new waste transfer system, and grazing controls. Through the farms’ lands runs an un-named tributary to the Maiden Creek, which is a Schuylkill River tributary, and these property enhancements are helping to reduce pollutant runoff and infiltration, thereby improving water quality. 

Award ceremony speakers included Mr. Tambini, along with Schuylkill River Heritage Area’s Executive Director Silas Chamberlin, Philadelphia Water Department’s Kelly Anderson, Exelon Generation Limerick Generating Station’s Chris Gerdes, and David Snyder of The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Tambini focused his remarks how the SRRF helps support local conservation projects, which improve water quality and serve as the foundation for healthy watersheds. The SRRF brings together government agencies, private industries, non-profit organizations, local businesses, and local community members to achieve positive environmental results for the Schuylkill River Watershed, demonstrating how partnering works to accomplish great things.

The $274,623 distributed from the SRRF in 2015 will directly support six projects and three land transaction grants, all of which will improve the water quality in the Schuylkill River and its tributaries, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million people. The funded projects will mitigate stormwater runoff, abandoned mine drainage, and agricultural pollution, while the land transaction grants will assist with costs associated with permanent protection of priority watershed parcels. View a listing of the funded projects in 2015.

Contributors to the SRRF in 2015 included Exelon Generation’s Limerick Generating Station, the Philadelphia Water Department, first-time contributor The Coca-Cola Company, Aqua PA, and MOM’s Organic Market. Administered by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area (SRHA), the SRRF was initiated ten years ago with funds from Exelon Corporation, which has participated every year. To date, the SRRF has awarded over $2.5 million to 73 projects that help reduce pollution entering the Schuylkill River and its tributaries.

The SRRF was created under a DRBC docket and Exelon Generation LLC’s desire to assist the restoration of the Schuylkill River Watershed, by providing large grants for on-the-ground improvements. DRBC approves the projects that are selected for funding using the Exelon funds and is one of several entities that sits on an advisory committee that chooses which projects get funded annually.

• Click here to view the SRHA press release “Schuylkill River Heritage Area Distributes Over $274,000 in Grants to Improve Water Quality in the River and Streams.”
• To learn more about SRHA and their administration of the SRRF, please click on the SRHA link in the “More Information” box.
• For additional information on the creation of the SRRF, how it’s managed, and its contributors, please click on the link in the “More Information” box.