Potter County Dirt & Gravel / Low Volume Roads Program
Roads, whether paved or unpaved can potentially harm water quality by virtue of runoff that deposits road material in the adjacent streams. Problems that arise from degraded driving surface include expensive maintenance and the consequences to streams inhabitants. Potter Conservation District offers funding to restore road conditions that in turn improves stream quality. Municipalities, Penn DOT, and Fish & Boat are all potential applicants of the Dirt & Gravel/ Low Volume Roads program grants allocated by the Potter CD to improve road infrastructure and the subsequent water resources.
Roads have a tendency to concentrate water, especially if the road is unkempt or outdated maintenance practices are employed. Concentrated flows suspend and transport material including dirt aggregates. Result from the transportation of road material and deposition in the waterways is the reduced quality of both. The roads becomes degraded from the material that is lost while the deposition causes unfavorable environments for inhabitants of the stream. In short, the more unnatural sediment going from the road to the stream, the less likely it is that fish will be able to thrive.
For more details about the Potter County Conservation District’s DGR/LVR program(s) visit the policy and applying for funding sections of our website or contact the DG/LVR Technician Morgan Jones at (814) 320-4011.