SMETHPORT — Last year, as part of its annual water quality projects, the McKean County Conservation District worked with municipalities to prevent sediment from roads entering streams, to stabilize stream banks and to prevent farm waste from entering streams.

Every year, the McKean County Conservation District completes a wide variety of water quality projects to prevent nonpoint source pollution of local waterways and improve natural resources. To do this, the district uses funding through several grant programs, including Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) through the State Conservation Commission, Growing Greener through DEP, and the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road program.

In 2024, the district worked with Wetmore and Hamlin townships to implement four Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road project grants.

The projects will help reduce the amount of sediment reaching the waters of the commonwealth.

“The program greatly benefits local municipalities and improves local roadways while improving our water quality. This is a water quality program, with projects aimed at preventing erosion runoff from entering local waterways,” said Lindsay Trojanowski, district resource conservationist.

Conservation districts administer and implement the Dirt Gravel and Low Volume Road Program at the county level. The McKean County Conservation District accepts applications for funding from potential applicants, and awards grants to local road owning entities.

Applications are ranked and awarded based on criteria that show the negative impact the road is having on water quality.

Since the program’s inception in 1997, the district has implemented 80 projects spending $2.8 million with a match of $1.2 million from the municipalities.

Eight streambank stabilization/ fish habitat projects were completed along the East Branch of Tunungwant Creek, Long Branch of Annin Creek, Bolivar Run, Allegheny River and Lillibridge Creek. These projects alleviated serious erosion problems that degrade aquatic habitat for fish and other organisms.

Since 2007, the district has completed 150 streambank stabilization/fish habitat projects on various streams through McKean County to stabilize and build streambanks to prevent thousands of tons of sediment from entering the local watersheds.

These projects do require general permits through the DEP, which the district can acknowledge locally.

“One of the easiest do-it-yourself solutions for eroding stream banks is to plant trees, shrubs, or live stakes of native shrubs to establish a root system and cover bare soil. These roots can hold soil and banks in place naturally and inexpensively,” said Adam Causer, district watershed specialist.

The district also works with local landowners to implement agricultural best management practices through DEP’s Growing Greener Grant Program and most recently, the State Conservation Commission’s Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP). Through these programs the district has committed over $3 million to implement various agricultural conservation practices such as roofed manure stacking pads, heavy use areas, fencing for rotational grazing and watering systems.

“These practices are aimed at controlling nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment from farmland while improving water quality and soil health across McKean County,” said Sarah Carlson, district resource technician. To be eligible for the ACAP program landowners are required to have either a conservation plan or agricultural erosion and sediment control plan and a manure management or nutrient management plan. The district can help landowners obtain all of these plans. Over the past two years, the district has helped over 30 landowners develop these various plans for their operations.

For more information on these programs, contact the conservation district at (814) 887-4001 or visit mckeanconservation. com.