A safe and reliable water supply is the lifeblood of any community.
We all want to go to our sink turn on the faucet and get clean, refreshing and safe drinking water; and in Berks County there are nearly 1,366 miles of streams that provide our community with drinking water each and every day. However, 25.4% or about 361 miles of them are considered by PA Department of Environmental Protection to be “impaired”. An impaired stream means that there may be significant erosion, sediment or storm water concerns degrading the quality of the water for both drinking and aquatic habitat. This water may need costly treatment before it can be considered safe to drink.
Many of these streams could benefit from simple “Best Management Practices” (BMP’s). A large fraction of Berks County is used for agriculture, and many miles of streams traverse active agricultural areas. Agricultural impacts on surface waters can be reduced by using well-recognized land management techniques. The use of BMP’s on agricultural properties ensures pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste are filtered out of storm water before they reach local waterways.
A new effort has been initiated in Berks County to link businesses and individuals who benefit from a safe and reliable water supply with farmers and landowners who are looking to incorporate BMPs into their operations.
What types of projects are funded?
- Streambank Fencing
- To keep livestock out of streams.
- Animal Crossings
- To allow livestock to cross fenced streams.
- Streamside Plantings
- To filter pollutants out of storm water before it reaches streams and into the water supply.
- Conservation Plans
- To guide agricultural operations toward water quality protection.
How the Program Works
The program is run on a voluntary basis. Potential projects from interested property owners will be submitted to the BerksConservancy and evaluated and prioritized. Donations will then be used to fund specific projects, selected by the donor, or will be pooled with other donations and used on the highest priority projects. This effort is the first of its kind in the state. As the protection of our valuable water supply gains importance, this project can be a model replicated throughout Pennsylvania.
How You Can Help
The Berks Watershed Restoration Fund Many local farmers and landowners are interested in incorporating small BMPs (total cost typically less than $2,500) into their property or operations; however, the cost may be too much for any single landowner or farmer to bear, and funding for these smaller-scale projects is often difficult to obtain. The goal of this program is to raise money from area businesses and individuals interested in protecting the region’s water supply and creating a fund in order to implement these best management practices for willing farmers and landowners.
To learn more or to participate in this effort, please contact:
Berks Conservancy
25 North 11th Street
Reading, PA 19601
610-372-4992
