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The new Water Resources Planning Act 220: What could it do for Members of the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association? by Todd Giddings, Ph.D., P.G., Member, Upper/Middle Susquehanna Regional Committee Our current State Water Plan is more than 25 years old, and the new Water Resources Planning Act will update this plan within the next five years, and every five years thereafter. Six regional water resources committees have been appointed by Governor Rendell, and have begun the development of their regional plan components of the State Water Plan. I am a member of the Upper/Middle Susquehanna Region and the mouth of this regional watershed is located at Sunbury. This region is large, extending from Indiana County in the west to Wayne County in the east, and includes all or part of 24 counties. Pennsylvania is divided into six water-resource regions based on its major watersheds, and these planning regions are shown on the map.
A Statewide committee will be appointed to establish the guidelines and policies that will guide the updating of the State Water Plan. The Regional and Statewide committee members represent agriculture, business and industry, local government, and environmental interests. There will be an open, public process where the regional committees will, in consultation with the Statewide Committee and DEP, recommend the regional plan components for incorporation into the State Water Plan. The Act recognizes that ground water and surface water are interconnected components of a single hydrologic resource. It defines a Critical Water Planning Area as a watershed where existing or future demands exceed, or threaten to exceed, the safe yield of the available water resources. Safe yield is the amount of water that can be withdrawn over a period of time without impairing the long-term utility of the water resource. You may know of a watershed that you believe should be nominated as a Critical Water Planning Area. So what could the Water Resources Planning Act do for members of the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association? Answer: Provide you with the perfect opportunity to provide ground-water and water-well specific input into the regional plan components for your local area. Your knowledge about your local ground-water resources and water-well issues should be shared with your regional committee because your involvement locally will ensure that ground-water and water-well issues are addressed in the regional components of the statewide plan. Please don’t assume that someone else is going to address your local ground-water and water-well issues. This process of revising the State Water Plan needs your input as a ground-water professional. All of the regional committee meetings are open to the public, and the meeting dates and meeting locations are published on the Act 220 Web page. Go to the DEP Home page at www.dep.state.pa.us and type water resources in the Keyword Box and then click Go. On the Act 220 Resource Center Homepage, click on the box for Regional Water Resources Committee Homepages, and then click on the meeting date and meeting location links in the General Information box. To find which region you are in, go to the map on the Planning Area Information page. The Regional Committee for your area will be able to recommend designating watersheds as a Critical Water Planning Areas. Upon receiving and considering this recommendation, the Statewide Committee and Secretary McGinty could designate the watersheds as a Critical Water Planning Areas for the development of Critical Area Resource Plans. This process could take place simultaneously with the preparation of your regional water plan component, and would not have to wait five years for the completion of the State Water Plan. Your Regional Committee would next establish a Critical Area Advisory Committee composed of local watershed representatives that would evaluate policies, programs, and management alternatives and advise the Regional Committee and the Department throughout the development of the Critical Area Resource Plan for the designated watersheds. The Critical Area Resource Plans would be an integral part of the regional component of the State Water Plan. There are potential benefits to local watersheds that could arise from their early designation as Critical Water Planning Areas. The Regional Committee may recommend to the Department the engagement of county or regional agencies or expert consulting firms to assist in the process of preparing the Critical Area Resource Plans. The coordinated and simultaneous development of the local watershed Critical Area Resource Plans and the Upper/Middle Susquehanna regional component plan could also be symbiotic. The Water Resources Planning Act contains opportunities for members of the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association to have input into their regional plan components and to nominate local watersheds as Critical Water Planning Areas. A copy of the Water Resources Planning Act and other detailed information is available on the Act 220 Resource Center Web page. Remember, this water resource planning process is your opportunity to contribute to the new and revised State Water Plan.
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