The Berks County Conservancy invests much of our time and grant resources in stream protection, restoration and land management.What does this do for you? Well, our work helps to keep sediment and pollutants out of the water which improves drinking and recreational water quality for people and wildlife! Much of our recent work was focused in the streams that feed Lake Ontelaunee (Reading Area Water Authority’s primary drinking water supply that serves over 100,000 people). Each year we address at least 15,000 feet of streams to improve drinking water quality for the citizens of Berks County.
What is involved in working on the streams? Each project is different and involves a variety of best management practices suited to the needs of that particular site. For example, we recently addressed 2980 feet of the Tulpehocken Creek Greenway which involved the following best management practices: 4 J-Hooks and 12 in-stream boulders for aquatic habitat; 98 native trees and 240 native shrubs planted for shade and erosion control; and 50 pounds of native grass seeds were sown in the riparian buffer. This Red Bridge County Park location is widely respected for recreational trout fishing and canoeing. Many of our other projects are in agricultural areas and involve different best management practices such as stream bank fencing to keep the livestock out of the stream or stormwater management systems in barnyards to reduce the manure runoff into the stream.
All of these projects simply involve managing the land differently to reduce the negative impacts to our water supplies. We are grateful for the cooperation of our many partners that get involved in stream restoration including the Schuylkill Action Network, Berks County Conservation District, Reading Area Water Authority, Tulpehocken Chapter Trout Unlimited, local watershed associations, and many more. Take a moment to learn a bit more about our Best Management Practices. |