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The Schuylkill Watershed Congress
By Producer, Kelly Meinhart
Ed Wytovich; "Whatever we do to our land, we do to our
water"
 hat
began five years ago as a learning opportunity for volunteer
monitors has grown into an annual event hosting 28 unique educational
sessions with over 160 attendees. Over time, the Schuylkill
Watershed Congress has developed into a forum for anyone interested
in watershed protection to hone their skills, learn knew ways
of educating their communities about our watersheds, develop
new techniques to better protect their local streams, and gain
inspiration from others in the field.
 he organizers
and sponsors of the event all pool from their vast wealth of
connections and watershed programs to design a full day event
covering topics that range from storm water management; dam
removal studies; riverfront revitalization; leaf-pack studies;
non point source pollution; using your data; riparian buffer
management; and how to eradicate invasive plant species. Sounds
very impressive, doesn't it? Well it is, and the event is packed
full of information - information which has been customized
to the needs and requests of the individuals attending the Congress.
Each year, the organizers take a serious look at the evaluation
forms received and begin the process of developing the forum
for the next year. And attendees can simply mark it in their
calendars for the following year, because the Congress is always
held on the first weekend of March. So go ahead, mark it in
your calendars for 2003!
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his
year's event boasted Senator James Gerlach as the Keynote
Speaker. Senator Gerlach has introduced Senate Bill
1230 - "Water Resources Conservation and Protection
Act." A copy of Senator Gerlach's proposed Bill
is located in the resources section below. Here is a
brief description of what the bill proposes:
This legislation established a water resources program
in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
that requires the State Water Plan to be updated with
information on water availability, water use and future
demands on a watershed basis, identification of Critical
Water Planning Areas where water demands are projected
to exceed water supplies and development of Integrated
Water Resources Plans for these areas involving all
stakeholders in the process, establishes a formal program
to promote water conservation and water use efficiency
practices for all water users and sets construction
standards for new water wells to protect drinking water
and groundwater from contamination.
 hari
Towne, a representative of one of the founding organizers
of the event, the Delaware RiverKeeper Network, noted
"People really responded positively to his Keynote
address. Last year was the first year we had a keynote
speaker, and we found that it really set the tone for
the event. So we thought that Senator Gerlach's legislation
would be a good note to start the day with. Strengthening
protection of both water quality and water quantity
is desperately needed in Pennsylvania."mber of
different water quality and quantity provisions, which
are desperately needed in Pennsylvania."
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hari
also noted, "One of the exciting things for
me is to see the progress. This is the Congress's
fifth anniversary of the event and it has become
something people look forward to. That's very
gratifying. People from all walks of life can
join together; learn more about their watershed,
and return to their communities with more knowledge.
The synergy between people is exciting! Our goal
is to help people grow to their best potential
- and hopefully what comes out of all of this
is that we'll have better protected streams."
his year's
Congress was hosted by the Temple University,
Ambler Campus, Center for Sustainable Communities.
Representatives from Temple included The Director
of the Center, Jeff Featherstone and Assistant
Director, Elizabeth Richard. "Thanks go out
to the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple
University Ambler, not only for hosting this year's
event, but also for their considerable event support
and their help with the many details that the
planning of an event such as the Congress entails."
Congratulations to all of the sponsors and organizers
for another year of progress in the Schuylkill
watershed!
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SPONSORS:
The
PA DEP, Coastal Management Program
Pennsylvania
Sea Grant - A Cooperative Extension partner
ORGANIZERS:
The
Delaware RiverKeeper
Center
for Sustainable Communities, Temple University
Ambler
in association with:
Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring
Friends of Mingo Creek
Green Valleys Association
Montgomery County Conservation District
Montgomery County Planning Commission
Natural Lands Trust
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Pennsylvania Senior Environmental Corps
Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy
Stroud Water Research Center
Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association
RESOURCES:
Senate
Bill 1230 - "Water Resources Conservation
and Protection Act"
Watershed Congress Abstracts:
Life,
Death, and Rebirth of the Schuylkill River
(PDF)
Connecting
into the Watershed Web (PDF)
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