The Schuylkill and Perkiomen Creek are competing for 2023 Pennsylvania River of the Year

Two Philly-area waterways have been nominated for the annual Pennsylvania River of the Year contest.

This year, the Schuylkill and Perkiomen Creek are up against the Conestoga River and Susquehanna River-North Branch. Each waterway was nominated by local nonprofit organizations, and was considered for its conservation and restoration efforts and needs.

The Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) organizes the competition, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources.

The organization that nominated the winning river will receive a $10,000 leadership grant from the DCNR to fund celebrations of the honor. Those year-round activities will include a River of the Year sojourn, which are miles-long paddling trips for large groups of people meant to raise awareness for conservation work, river stewardship, and the economic and cultural value of the waterway.

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Voting is now open on the POWR website, and will be open until Jan. 18.

The Schuylkill last won the competition in 2014, after its first victory in 1999. It was nominated by the Schuylkill River Greenways organization, which is in the middle of a 10-year strategic plan titled “Re(Turn) to the River,” aiming to improve the river area and raise awareness of its importance by 2026. Some of those goals include completing the Schuylkill River Trail and increasing tourism.

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The Perkiomen Creek, which is northwest of Philadelphia, was nominated by the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy. The conservancy leads conservation efforts year-round along the over 14-mile-long waterway, including trash cleanups, riverbank restorations, and tree plantings, as well as educational programming.