Edinboro Lake Watershed Association receive environmental project award

The Edinboro Lake Watershed Association (ELWA) will receive $5,000 from Dominion Energy, one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, and the Pittsburgh Environmental Council (PEC) for its work in identifying and reducing pollutants from impacting Edinboro Lake.

The ELWA is a winner of the 2018 Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards, which is presented annually to local organizations who demonstrate leadership, effectiveness and results in making an impact on the environment. The organization is among a total of five that were chosen by a group of independent judges, environmental experts and PEC staff in response to a call for entries earlier this year.

A management plan completed by the ELWA determined that 81 percent of the phosphorus entering the lake is from non-point sources with over 27 percent of the total being derived from stormwater runoff from land development. This was done in an effort to prevent the advanced state of eutrophication, which depletes oxygen in the water and impacts aquatic life.

In 2017 the ELWA completed a project to design and install stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the campus of General McLane High School and Middle School in Edinboro. These stormwater methods capture runoff from approximately 38 acres resulting in approximately 24 pounds per year reduction in phosphorus and 10,000 pounds per year reduction of total suspended solids entering Edinboro Lake.

The winners of the Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards will be honored with a dinner and awards ceremony, sponsored by Dominion Energy and PEC, on Thursday, May 24 at the Westin Convention Center Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.