Clear win for water, Conservancy

A $93,285 grant will assist 20 municipalities in southern Chester County with water quality goals, the Brandywine Conservancy announced today.

The grant, obtained by the Conservancy through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), will enable the Conservancy's Environmental Management Center to work with public officials and private landowners to implement pollution reduction that will benefit residents as well as downstream locations.

"We are thrilled to receive this grant because water resource protection and management have been vital work of the Brandywine Conservancy for more than 40 years," said Sherri Evans-Stanton, director of the EMC, in a news release. "We are delighted to be partnering with the Chester County Conservation District, Water Resources Authority, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and local watershed organizations on this critical work."

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency established Total Daily Maximum Loads (TMDLs) for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The largest number of affected municipalities - over 1,100 - are located in Pennsylvania. To achieve TMDL reductions, the Conservancy will apply an integrated approach focusing on public municipal and private landowner action, such as protecting woodlands and planting trees, the release said.

The funding was awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund via the Small Watershed Grants (SWG) Program which is administered by NFWF. The SWG program provides grants to organizations and local governments working on a local level to implement projects that improve small watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay basin, while building citizen-based resource stewardship. This program is funded by EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program Office, as well as the US Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the D.C. Department of the Environment.