The land that water flows across, or under, on its way to a stream, river, or lake is known as a watershed.
Within each watershed, all water runs to the lowest point: a stream, river, or lake. On its way, water travels over several types of surfaces such as farm fields, forests, suburban lawns, and city streets or it seeps into the soil and travels as groundwater through aquifers.
Berks County plays an important role in the health of the Schuylkill River and ultimately the Delaware River basin. Berks Nature, along with numerous partners and funders, are investing resources in protecting and improving natural resources in our watersheds; as well as providing water education to thousands of residents.
Various factors lead to the destruction of our community’s waterways, including runoff from agriculture, stormwater, removal of vegetation, and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers.
Do you ever stop and notice the conditions in our surface waters? What are our streams telling us about the health of our watersheds?
In order to improve the quality of our water, we must delve into the responsibilities we have as a community to create positive changes to the land surrounding our streams.
The PA DEP develops water quality standards for all surface waters of the Commonwealth to safeguard Pennsylvania’s streams, rivers and lakes. These standards consist of both “use designations” and the criteria necessary to protect those uses.
When a stream fails to meet the criteria of one of its use designations, it is considered impaired.
In Berks County, you get your water from a private well or one of 63 different public water suppliers. In any case, it is good practice for you to learn exactly where your water comes from and what is being done to protect it. We are all guilty of taking this important resource for granted as part of our daily routine when we shower, brush our teeth, cook our meals, wash the dishes, water the plants, and most importantly, take a drink. It is always there for us, but what do you really know about it? Where does it begin and what is its journey into your home?
If you have a well, have you tested it recently? Be aware of changes in land use around you. New developments or land practices could affect your local groundwater quality or quantity. Visit mwon.cas.psu.edu – a good resource for well owners in Pennsylvania.
If you pay a bill, has your supplier completed a protection plan to protect your water supply? As of October 2015 the following public water systems have completed source water protection plans: Kutztown Borough, Lyons Borough Municipal Authority, Maxatawny Township, Reading Area Water Authority, Birdsboro Municipal Water Authority, Womelsdorf-Robesonia Joint Authority, Bernville Borough Authority, Boyertown Water Authority, Western Berks Water Authority, Oley Township Municipal Authority, PA American-Penn District, PA American-Glen Alsace, North Heidelberg Water System, and Muhlenberg Township Authority.
Click here to see a list of all Berks County water suppliers. Your water supply may not come from the watershed you live in (unless you have a well). Call your water supplier and ask about the specific source of your drinking water.
Individual landowners, businesses, municipalities, and school campuses impact the watershed (good and bad) with every land management decision that they make. There are many inexpensive options to consider in managing your land in a way that keeps our watersheds healthy. There are local experts that can help guide you to make decisions like: what you mow, how you manage your gravel driveway, what types of trees to plant, how you till your land, how to fertilize, how to create a schoolyard or backyard habitat, wildflower meadows, permanently protecting land from development, and more!
These land management techniques are called Best Management Practices (BMPs). Since much of Berks County’s land use is agriculture, we implement BMPs on many farms to help improve the environmental stressors associated with agricultural practices. Our goal is happy farmers, and improved land and water resources! This graphic describes the types of BMP projects that can occur on farms.
Wetlands act as sponges in times of heavy rain. They also provide important services such as flood protection, water treatment, pollination, and wildlife habitat. Protect wetlands in your community!
As rain or melting snow drains off of the land to a creek, it can pick up pollutants such as pesticides, fertilizers, loose soil, road salt, and dog waste. This is called stormwater runoff pollution and is a major stressor in the Schuylkill River Watershed. It becomes a significant concern in urbanized areas such as boroughs and the City of Reading where excess stormwater can not only lead to pollution, but also river damage and dangerous flooding.
Berks County is leading several initiatives to deal with the complex issues related to stormwater. About 40 municipalities in Berks County are required to have a National Pollutant Discharge Eliminations System (NPDES) permit to discharge stormwater from their municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). We refer to them as MS4 communities. A Berks County MS4 Steering Committee (comprised of these MS4 communities) was formed to address the permit requirements on a regional level. In addition, the Berks County Water & Sewer Association is a unique partnership to address our public water and sewer issues in our county.
Want to learn even more about watersheds? The US Environmental Protection Agency has a lot of general information on watersheds. Explore today!
