WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

The VCD Watershed Specialist
The Venango Conservation District's Watershed Conservation Program is coordinated by the district's Watershed Specialist.  The goals of the Watershed Specialist are to provide technical assistance to watershed organizations, help new organizations to form, assess the quality of local watersheds, aid in developing preservation and restoration plans, and educate the community about the importance of watershed conservation.  Activities the Watershed Specialist may be involved include riparian corridors, storm water management, flood control, flood plain management, land use regulation, zoning, aquifier, well head protection, source water protection, water resource planning, ground water protection, wastewater reuse, acid mine drainage, wetland restoration, erosion & sediment control and nutrient management concerns.

POND MANAGMENT
This link to the Penn State Cooperative Extension Website on Pond Management is a very helpful source.  From water quality to pond maintenance, and from aquatic plants to algae, you are sure to find all of the information you are looking for. 
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If you are looking specifically for general information regarding fish ponds, click here for the Penn State Cooperative Extension Website on Management of Fish Ponds.

Watershed Partners
 
South Sandy Creek Watershed Association (SSCWA)
The VCD has played an active role in the 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.  The 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 performs 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 tesing on these streams and semi-annual macroinvertebrate surveys in the spring and fall.  In addition to working closely with the VCD and sharing their data, PaSEC members participate in other distrct watershed projects such as, watershed snapshot, riparian corridor assessments, and watershed education efforts.  Volunteers also scour Venango County hunting for Orphaned Wells. 

Oil Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited (OCTU)
The VCD 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  1980s has been reassessed in 2001 through a Technical Assistance Grant and is the focus of a new Growing Greener Grant application for reconstru tion and maintenance.  The VCD and OCTU have also collaborated on educational projects and look forward to continued partnership.

Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association (SCWA)
The SCWA is an 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 VCD, 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.