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Sustainable Pennsylvania

Sustainable Pennsylvania

Municipal Certification Project

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Home › Action Resources › Water › Water Planning and Protection

FOCUS AREAS

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Related Criteria

W1 One Water Plan: The municipality has created an integrated water resources management (IWRM) or a 'One Water' plan to protect water quality, human health, and community assets. 

W2 Water Plan Specifics: The comprehensive plan (or separate water-specific plans that are currently in use - such as a One Water plan or a flood mitigation plan) includes recommendations for: 
A. encouraging low impact development or enhanced stormwater management techniques to manage stormwater runoff and onsite stormwater infiltration where geologically effective.
B. protecting and preserving wetlands, waterways/riparian buffers.
C. reclaiming developed land where flooding has occurred regularly and/or at increasing intervals and is contributing to significant flooding elsewhere in the watershed.
D. protecting homes and properties where vulnerable populations are at significant risk of flooding.
E. One or more of the above items are benchmarked and progress towards the goal is tracked and reported on.

W3 Official Map: The municipality has an up-to-date official map for land or water bodies that the municipality intends to restore, preserve, and protect. 

 

Water Planning

Description: Comprehensive water planning is critical to the environment, public health, and safety of not just a community, but its neighbors. A truly integrated water plan looks at all aspects of a community’s water, from stormwater to sewers and drinking water as well as water flowing in and flowing out of the municipality. It must consider both the gray infrastructure and green infrastructure that is needed to meet local, regional, and national water-related goals.

Best Practices in Developing a Comprehensive Water Plan for Your Municipality:

  1. Create a thorough description of the water quality, human health and regulatory issues to be addressed in the plan.

In what ways are these issues likely to shift under the climate change projections for your region? Which populations, municipal systems, and built structures are likely to most suffer from a lack of addressing these issues?

  1. Create a description of existing wastewater and stormwater systems under consideration and summary information describing the systems’ current performance.

Does your municipality have combined sewer/stormwater systems and overflows? When were the components of the system last replaced or repaired? When will major replacement work be necessary? Is the consolidation of service provision a matter for current or future consideration?

What bodies of water exist in the community? Are they ecologically healthy, in need of rehabilitation, or in need of further study? Have any pre-existing streams been channeled or piped underground? How many watersheds are located in your community, and how does the water flow through the watershed(s)? To what extent do key bodies of water interact with private and public properties?

  1. Outline a community process which opens and maintains channels of communication with relevant local stakeholders in order to give full consideration of the views of others in the planning process and during implementation of the plan.

A community engagement plan should include diverse representation from throughout the community, especially those residents and other stakeholders most impacted by matters like increased water/sewer rates, flooding, and clean water access. Outreach should include multiple methods for sharing information, gathering feedback, and following up with stakeholders. As with any community engagement effort, it is important to understand both who is involved and who has not yet been effectively engaged. Municipal officials should work to engage people where they already gather, rather than relying on stakeholders coming to a formal municipal meeting.

  1. Outline a process for identifying, evaluating, and selecting alternatives and proposing implementation schedules, including a plan for modifying ongoing or planned projects based on changing circumstances.

How will your municipality prioritize water-related system improvement projects? Work with water and sewer authorities, as well as regional planning agencies and local/regional green infrastructure and environmentally focused nonprofits, to determine shared priority projects. Begin exploring local, state, and federal funding opportunities for projects, and contact your state and federal legislators to share your municipality’s priority projects and seek guidance on relevant pools of funds. Consider approaching downhill and uphill communities impacted by potential projects in order to build shared strategy, advocacy, and funding efforts.

Resources


Custom Consulting/Services
Integrated Planning Technical Assistance for Municipalities
Environmental Protection Agency EPA provides states and municipalities free technical assistance for integrated planning. The free technical assistance is available until September 1, 2022. Visit resource website

Financial Assistance/Incentives
GROW Program
ALCOSAN GROW is a multi-million-dollar grant program that provides funding for source reduction projects in our partner communities and authorities. Under the program, any municipality or municipal sewer authority within the ALCOSAN service area is eligible to submit a source control project for grant funding consideration. Visit resource website
Energy Efficiency of Water Utilities
United States Environmental Protection Agency For many municipal governments, drinking water and wastewater plants typically are the largest energy consumers, often accounting for 30 to 40 percent of total energy consumed. Utilizing an energy Audit to help find opportunities for improvement can help to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption. EPA provides opportunities for funding audits and improvements. Visit resource website
PENNVEST | Funding Programs
PENNVEST PENNVEST has been empowered by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority Act (Act 16 of 1988) to administer and finance the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) pursuant to the federal Water Quality Act of 1987, as well as to administer American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds. Visit resource website

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About Sustainable Pennsylvania

Sustainable Pennsylvania, a joint project of the Pennsylvania Municipal League and Sustainable Pittsburgh, is a voluntary performance recognition program designed to help municipalities set and achieve sustainability goals, save money, conserve resources, and foster a vibrant community.

Pennsylvania Municipal League

The Pennsylvania Municipal League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. Today, The League represents participating Pennsylvania cities, boroughs, townships, home rule communities and towns that all share The League’s municipal policy interests.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Municipal League is to strengthen, empower and advocate for effective local government.

Sustainable Pittsburgh

Sustainable PGH is a nonprofit committed to building the knowledge, perspective, and ability needed to create a better tomorrow for our region.

Contact us

Email info@sustainablepa.org or reach out directly to Bailey Rocco (PML) at brocco@pml.org or (717) 236-9469, or contact Sawyer Sidelinger (Sustainable Pittsburgh) at ssidelinger@sustainablepittsburgh.org or by phone at (412) 258-6642.

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