The Keystone Clean Water Team, formerly Carbon County Groundwater Guardians, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, volunteer, environmental education organization which provides homeowners with information on private wells, water quality, septic systems, and other environmental/economic issues.
We are dedicated to protecting private well owners from illnesses caused by our baseline water quality and historic lack of private well water standards.
We advance good groundwater stewardship by raising awareness on a variety of groundwater issues that affects everyone with a private water supply. The following are examples of our education outreach programs:
Sullivan County Private Well Owner Workshop
The presentation was conducted along with the Sullivan County Conservation District, a local certified laboratory, and a local grassroots citizens group. The focus of the presentation included: groundwater quality in Sullivan County, issues related to baseline testing, regional geology, common water quality problems, pathways for private well impact, and common water treatment systems.
Friends of Salt Springs State Park
Mr. Brian Oram conducted a private or community based education and awareness programs on water quality. The organization will hold a “fact based presentation” that reviews real concerns and issues in our communities today and non-point and point sources of contamination. Some hands-on “quick” water testing will be done capturing pH, ionic salt measurements, (conductivity) and total dissolved solids (TDS) on the tap water, and 2 streams at Salt Springs State Park.
Luzerne County Conservation District- Free Community Education Event
An educational program on Groundwater Resources and Protecting/Monitoring Private Wells for Residents in Luzerne County, the event will be held on a Saturday in July 27, 2013. The private well owners will also screen their well water samples for pH, conductivity, nitrate, alkalinity, hardness, nitrite, and iron. The presentation will include a summary of the data within the Citizens Groundwater and Surface water Database, plus showing citizens how to monitor the quality of the groundwater and surface water using visual clues and low cost monitoring instruments.
Lake Ariel
The homeowners association is requesting assistance with aiding in the review of their water quality monitoring efforts, conducting groundwater monitoring, and training and informing the local stakeholders. The focus of this effort will to conduct an education outreach effort for the association, aid in developing a groundwater monitoring program, education on nonpoint source and point source pollution control, and the interactions between surface water and groundwater. The areas of key discussion will include septic systems, private wells, fertilizers, and other nonpoint sources of pollution. After the planning meeting, we assisted with baseline sampling and then conducted a community meeting with over 50+ private well owners attending.
Citizen Supporters
For our citizen supporters, we provide number of programs that include a :
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• Water quality screening tests;
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• A review of water quality data;
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• Free attendance at any local education event or presentation being hosted by the Keystone Clean Water Team,
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• Assistance with grant applications and grant completion, and
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• Discounted services related to water testing and educational materials.
Corporate or Business Partners/Sponsors – support Keystone Clean Water Team!
To be part of the solution in Pennsylvania – Your Support of the Keystone Clean Water Team will help to protect, manage, and preserve the natural resources within our communities.
If you would like more information about sponsorships, please contact Chairperson, Mr. Brian Oram at (570) 335-1947 or at cleanwater@carbonwaters.org and request a sponsor’s package.
Partnership
Partnerships are critical. The Keystone Clean Water Team partners with local municipalities and other non-profit organizations to help service our community. Through partnerships, we are able to leverage the resources of multiple organizations to increase our overall capacity. This synergistic relationship is important to our organization and the health safety and welfare of our communities.
