Governor's Award for Watershed Stewardship 2001

Spring Creek Watershed Community,
sponsored by Clear Water Conservancy
2555 N. Atherton St.
State College, PA 16803

Contact:
Katie Ombalski
(814) 237-0400
(814) 237-4909 (fax)
ombalski@yahoo.com

Environmental Results:

12 monitoring stations throughout the Spring Creek watershed continuously monitor baseflow conditions.

Created a searchable database of previous studies and current monitoring projects.

Assessment & Planning
Spring Creek Watershed Community, sponsored by Clear Water Conservancy

Water Monitoring Project Guides Development in Spring Creek Watershed

Encompassing 175 square miles, the Spring Creek watershed houses one of the most rapidly growing regions in Pennsylvania. Changing land use patterns threaten to reduce the volume of groundwater recharge and potentially increase the volume of in-coming pollutants entering Spring Creek and its tributaries. In the face of continuing development, establishing a baseline for stream flow and water quality was essential to monitoring the health of the watershed.

In 1996, after receiving special attention from an international team of environmental professionals through Chesapeake Bay's International Countryside Stewardship Exchange, community leaders established the Spring Creek Watershed Community to protect the long-term sustainability of the region's resources. The largest group of its kind in Centre County, the Spring Creek Watershed Community is a broad-based stakeholder initiative comprised of more than 2,000 individuals who are enthusiastic about preserving and protecting the integrity of the watershed.

To measure water quality and set goals for improvement, the group established the Water Resources Monitoring Project - a network of 12 monitoring stations to monitor baseflow conditions. Today, data collection occurs continuously through in-stream monitors for flow level and stream temperature, and monthly through sampling for water quality. The organization now engages volunteers in conducting monthly water quality monitoring activities, having designed a consistent sampling protocol.

In the fall 2000, DEP awarded the Spring Creek Watershed Community two Growing Greener grants, expanding the scope of the project to conduct both stormwater and groundwater monitoring at Spring Creek. The stormwater study will help pinpoint soil and other surface contaminants that occur in the stream at the initiation of direct runoff. With more than 95 percent of the drinking water in the region originating as groundwater, tracking the quantity of groundwater will provide data for determining hydrologic budgets for the watershed.

"The Spring Creek watershed is under siege from a rapidly growing population and an exploding transportation infrastructure. If we are going to have any chance of preserving these precious streams, we must carefully monitor the quantity and quality of water above and below the surface and scrutinize any activities that threaten these water resources."
Robert F. Carline, Fisheries Biologist
USGS Biological Resources Division
Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Awards HOME • Introduction • Background • Categories • Past Winners • View Webcast