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EPA awards $654,800 grant for storm water management to Eastern Panhandle conservation district

Release Date: 10/2/2003
Contact Information: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567

Contact: Roy Seneca (215) 814-5567
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $654,800 grant to the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District, Berkeley County, West Virginia to help alleviate flooding caused by storm water runoff. The project will benefit residents living in the Inwood watershed, which encompasses 2,344 acres.

The Inwood watershed has been subject to flooding due to extensive development and the watershed’s problematic surface and groundwater hydrology. Although no streams are located in the watershed, excessive runoff causes significant flooding and has the potential to cause groundwater contamination.

“Inadequate storm water management systems are a major cause of flooding in numerous communities across the nation, and this grant will provide the residents of the Inwood watershed with a modern, state-of-the-art storm water management and treatment system to eliminate flooding and improve public health,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The project will provide new storm sewers, underground culverts, grassed waterways, and constructed wetlands to transport and treat storm water and discharge into a tributary of the Opequon Creek. The improvements will eliminate the persistent flooding problems and associated health hazards experienced in the Inwood watershed during wet weather.

The grant will pay for 55 percent of the estimated $1.2 million project cost, and the district will provide cash for the balance.