Wildlands Conservancy, Bethlehem and Salisbury Township received a portion of $18.7 million in DEP awards announced today.
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An egret fishes in Allentown's Jordan Creek.
Wildlands Conservancy received the Lehigh Valley's largest gift of $331,565 for their ongoing effort to restore free-flowing water conditions throughout the Little Lehigh Creek Watershed, according to the DEP.
Bethlehem got $203,000 for its Stefko Boulevard swale and Salisbury Township was awarded $15,106 for a stormwater basin, the state agency reported.
The grants are an investment in 106 projects aimed at watershed protection throughout the state by improving waterways, stormwater runnoff, acid mine drainage and educational programs, among other things, according to the DEP. Grant recipients were chosen from 169 eligible applicants who sought a combined total of $38.8 million in funding.
"Protecting the waters of the commonwealth is key to DEP’s mission," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. "Providing these grants is a major component of continued excellence in water quality."
Wildlands Conservancy will use the grant to remove obsolete dams and other barriers on the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown and Lower Macungie Township, as well as on the Jordan Creek in Allentown's Jordan Park, conservancy Vice President of Conservation Abigail Pattishall said.
Jordan Creek is the Little Lehigh Creek's largest tributary, she said.
The conservancy, a nonprofit organization based in Lower Macungie, launched the effort in 2010, using money from earlier DEP and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grants to complete engineering and design work during the project's first phase, Pattishall said.
The new grant means the conservancy and its partners can go to work on the second phase: construction, she said.
The conservancy has worked closely with Allentown's Department of Parks & Recreation on the project, Pattishall said, and received additional monetary support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, American Rivers and FishAmerica Foundation.
"The overall vision is to restore nature to the City of Allentown -- improving water quality, giving residents an opportunity to experience a more natural setting, creating habitat for wildlife, improving fishing," she said.
Bethlehem will use its grant to repair a stormwater swale on Stefko Boulevard near East North Street, city Public Works Director Michael Alkhal said.
The swale, which is near mechanical contractor SmitHahn Company and some other businesses, has serious erosion problems and is overgrown, Alkhal said. Repairing it has long been on Bethlehem's to-do list, but the project's total price tag of $1 million has been prohibitive, Alkhal said.
The state had yet to formally notify Alkhal of the grant this afternoon, so he was unsure of how the money will be used in the project.
Salisbury Township's manager did not immediately return a call for comment about the municipality's grant and its stormwater basin project.
Reporter Lynn Olanoff contributed to this report.
Contact Lehigh County suburbs reporter Precious Petty at 484-894-3854 or ppetty@express-times.com.
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