LOWER TWO MILE RUN STORM WATER PROJECT

The Venango Conservation District was please to accept Growing Greener funding to perform our Lower Two Mile Run Storm Water Project.  The district and partners will construct up to six storm water best management practices within the Lower Two Mile Run Watershed in Venango County.  Practices will include infiltration trenches, rain gardens, vegetated swales, and forested riparian buffer plantings.  We expect to protect up to .75 miles of stream back by reducing the amount of bank scour in the Lower Two Mile Run.  We will also establish up to 750 feet of new forested riparian buffer in the headwaters of Lower Two Mile Run.  Storm water management will also be provided for approximately 149.68 acres of urbanized area in the Lower Two Mile Run Watershed.  Cooperators include the Cranberry School District, Cranberry township and landowner, Mr. Dennis Jack.

VENANGO STREAM BANK STABILIZATION INITIATIVE

Venango County has 1,206.56 miles of streams, many of which have bank erosion problems.  The Venango Stream bank Stabilization Initiative provides funding to Venango County residents, agencies, no profit organizations, and municipalities who wish to stabilize their stream banks that have erosion problems.  In 2008, the VCD was awarded a DEP Growing Greener grant to provide funding to help these landowners. 

These projects are design/build type projects.  Overall, each project calls for the digging of a key trench at the base of the bank and placing a weighted rock toe of native R-7 riprap material from the stream bed to an appropriate height at or below the high water mark.  the bank would be sloped, seeded with specialized riparian seed mix and covered with an erosion control fabric.  The bank would then be vegetated using native woody species.  Fish habitat structures would also be installed along the shoreline.  These projects have a direct impact on restoring and protecting habitat and improving water quality.

 SURFACE WATER ASSESSMENTS IN THE ALLEGHENY RIVER BASIN

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection identified several watersheds as priority watersheds to assess.  Assessments provide information that enhance water resource management programs.  Assessments are of value to a number of government agencies as well as public and private organizations and citizens of the Commonwealth.

The Venango Conservation District was able to apply to DEP for funding to perform assessment work on the East Sandy Creek and the Lower Two Mile Run watersheds.  Both watershed experience land use and other activities that threaten surface water quality, aquatic habitat and recreational uses.  The water resources get significant pressure from urban storm water runoff, commercial and residential development, and oil and gas development.

VCD staff, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Pennsylvania DEP, walked the watershed collecting data from water chemistry, macroinvertebrate samples, and fish sampling.  Photos were taken at each sample site.  Staff then entered the sampling data and the photographs into a mapping system.  All this information was used to compose a written report submitted to DEP for their use in future watershed project planning.

South Sandy Creek Watershed Association (SSCWA)
The Venango Conservation District has played an active roll in the recent formation of this organization whose goal is to address environmental problems in the South Sandy Creek Watershed. Coal mining of the past has created acid mine drainage that causes water pollution in the watershed. The District most recently supported the Association's application for a Growing Greener grant to fund a passive treatment system within the watershed. This system involves the installation of lime blocks to neutralize the effects of the acid mine drainage.

Venango PA Senior Environmental Corps (PaSEC)
This small but growing group of retired volunteers does water monitoring on several area streams, including East and South Sandy Creeks, Upper and Lower Two Mile Run, and Cherry Run. They do monthly chemical testing on these streams and semi-annual macroinvertebrate surveys in the spring and fall. In addition to working closely with the District and sharing their data, EASI members participate in other District watersheds projects such as, Watershed Snapshot, Riparian Corridor Assessments, and watershed education efforts.

Oil Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited (OCTU)
The District and the OCTU have a long history of collaborating on watershed conservation projects. Most notable of these has been the AMD treatment site at Woods Corners in Irwin Township. This project, which began in the late 1980’s has been reassessed in 2001 through a Technical Assistance Grant and is the focus of a new Growing Greener Grant application for reconstruction and maintenance. The District and OCTU have also collaborated on educational projects in 2001 and look forward to continued partnership in the future.

ScrubgrassCreek Watershed Association (SCWA)
The SCWA is a new watershed organization that began in 2001. The members of the SCWA share a common concern for the quality of the land and water in the watershed and plan to use a recently completed Rivers Conservation Plan as a guide for abating environmental problems in the watershed. The District, SCWA, and Natural Resources Conservation Service have teamed up to address the AMD and abandoned gas well problems in the watershed by applying for various grants to remediate problems and educate residents about local watershed issues.

Northern Allegheny Project (NAP)
The Northern Allegheny Project, an initiative of the PA Environmental Council, directed by Gina Ellis, was created in June of 2000 to foster sound stewardship through educational programs within the northern Allegheny region including the watersheds of the Oil, Tionesta, Brokenstraw and Conewango Creeks. Since its inception, NAP has communicated its goals with the District and plans to collaborate where appropriate to meet our mutual objectives of conservation, education and the general improvement of water quality in the County. Under contract with the District for project assistance, research has been conducted to identify landholders along the Oil Creek riparian corridor. The Project is also slated to partner with the Crawford and Warren Conservation Districts by performing water quality monitoring “pre” and “post-construction” of Best Management Practices on select farms within those counties.