General
The Berks County Conservation District’s Watershed Specialist provides technical assistance which will improve the quality of the Commonwealth’s surface and groundwater resources. The focus of this work relates to watershed assessment, procurement of funding, technical assistance to watershed organizations and the creation of work plans and strategies to restore and protect groundwater and surface water resources. The Watershed Specialist is a resource to both public and private sectors and is under the direct supervision and is accountable to the Conservation District Board of Directors.
Programs
- Watershed Planning
- Watershed Restoration
- Watershed Protection
- Watershed Education & Outreach
Services
- Develop programs to achieve restoration and protection goals based on stream quality, land use, and input from cooperating agencies, organizations, individuals and governing agencies.
- Facilitate the transfer of technical information among local, state and federal resource agencies, watershed groups and land managers.
- Prepare and submit grant proposals to provide funding for non-point source watershed activities (technical support positions, 319 projects, mini-grants, cost share funding, etc.) and other grant applications for funding watershed planning and implementation projects.
- Support existing watershed organizations with technical assistance, watershed planning, and educational programs.
- Provide technical assistance in the planning and implementation of riparian buffers and other structural and nonstructural best management practices designed to protect surface and groundwater quality
- Work with municipalities and County Planning Commissions to adopt model ordinances and more flexible design criteria that promote water quality protection, floodplain management, stormwater management, etc.
- Develop workshops and implement demonstration projects on the interrelationship between land use decisions and non-point source pollution prevention.
- Work with watershed groups and various government agencies to complete Watershed Restoration Action Strategies (WRAS) and assess the effectiveness of existing non-point source programs.
- Encourage agencies and landowners to cooperate in watershed initiatives, and inform them of the technical resources and funding opportunities that are available.
Contact Kent Himelright, Watershed Coordinator, at kent.himelright@berkscd.com or at 610-372-4657 Ext 211.