SRBC Awards $6.4 Million to Drought Resiliency Projects: Nearly 1.5 Billion Gallons of Water Savings Expected Annually

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2026

CONTACT:
Stacey Hanrahan
Communications & Outreach Specialist
Office: (717) 238-0423, ext. 1314

Nearly 1.5 Billion Gallons of Water Savings Expected Annually

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) is awarding more than $6.4 million to 19 projects that will improve water availability and quality during critical low flow periods. This marks the fifth year of competitive funding to forward-looking drought resiliency projects through the Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Program.

Awardees will use the funding to reduce water use or enhance supply, therefore helping to protect public health and safety, avoid water use conflicts, prevent water quality impacts, support economic production and sustain ecological flows.

Together these projects are estimated to deliver nearly 1.5 billion gallons of water savings a year; that's more than triple the amount estimated by awarded projects in 2025. This year's awardees include municipalities, golf courses, state government, industry and non-profits.

"These awards reflect the power of collaboration in advancing meaningful water solutions across the basin," said Andrew Dehoff, SRBC Executive Director. "By investing in projects like these, we're helping communities better prepare for dry conditions while building a more adaptable and sustainable water future."

Building on past awardee success, golf course projects include irrigation system upgrades and turf to meadow conversions, while municipal projects focus on leak detection and improved metering. Innovative project types include two dam improvements that will increase control of the water supplies, an aeration technique at a reservoir that will increase the usability of water storage, and a regenerative stormwater project that aims to increase recharge by reconnecting the stream channel to the floodplain.

Collectively the awardees are bringing more than $9 million in matching dollars to the table, underscoring tremendous partnerships and the strength of leveraging Commission funds for the common goal of an enhanced river basin.

Consumptive use refers to water that is used but not returned to rivers and streams because it is evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products or otherwise lost. The grants are funded by fees paid by regulated projects as mitigation for their consumptive water use.

More than half of the awarded projects are in a SRBC consumptive use priority area, which are watersheds targeted for the development of additional water conservation, mitigation or reuse measures due to significant water use and/or limited water availability.

You can read more about each project on our website, including past year awardees that have already successfully implemented watershed resilience throughout the basin.

Grant Awardees:

1. New York Power Authority - $500,000
2. Town of Erwin - $26,832
3. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation - $500,000
4. Town of Vestal Water Department - $84,810
5. Glenmaura National Golf Club - $360,057
6. City of DuBois - $408,000
7. Heidelberg Materials Northeast LLC - $205,108
8. Walker Township Water Association - $272,000
9. Susquehanna Valley Country Club - $200,000
10. Spring Creek Watershed Commission - $41,640
11. Middleburg Area Recreation Association - $213,000
12. Lewistown Country Club - $500,000
13. Byler Golf Management, Inc. - $319,350
14. Lancaster Farmland Trust - $376,392
15. Adamstown Borough - $244,469
16. Manheim Area Water and Sewer Authority - $116,831
17. Cumberland County - $250,000
18. Conestoga Country Club - $1,337,280
19. Chester Water Authority - $478,400

*See map for project locations

About the Susquehanna River Basin Commission

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The Susquehanna rises and flows through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. For more information on the Commission, visit srbc.gov.