STORIES OF PROGRESS IN ACHIEVING HEALTHY WATERS
FLOATING WETLAND ISLANDS PART OF PA LAKE RESTORATION SUCCESS
Harveys Lake, PA, May 14, 2015
•	Large PA lake removed from state's impaired
waters list
•	EPA Clean Water Act Section 319 grants provide
bulk of restoration funding for Harveys Lake
•	Floating wetland islands part of innovative
cleanup steps
•	TMDL and stormwater plan map the way
Progress/Success Story: One of Pennsylvania's largest natural lakes has been removed from the state's list of
impaired waters following years of EPA-funded work to control phosphorus pollution. One of the innovative
actions taken to meet the goal was deployment of five floating wetland islands.
General Information;
In a community with homes and roads ringing the water's edge, stormwater runoff was the main source of high
nutrient loads to Harvey's Lake in Luzerne County, prompting the state in 1996 to add it to the Clean Water Act
Section 303(d) list of impaired waters, The high nutrient loads contributed to algal blooms, which impacted
water quality and recreational use of the lake.		
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), or pollution diet, and a stormwater
implementation plan were developed to reduce nutrients by 22 percent,
or 230 pounds a year, and restore the nearly 659-acre lake.
Specifics:
Partners involved in the restoration projects have included Harveys Lake Borough, the Harveys Lake
Environmental Advisory Council, the Luzerne County Conservation District, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission, Princeton Hydro, LLC and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP).
The partners designed and constructed two stream restoration projects and installed a series of 38 urban
stormwater best management practices, including roadside swales with filter sleeves, chambered "baffle
boxes," small storm basins with removable cartridges, and other techniques to filter out pollutants. Finally, the
partners launched the man-made floating wetland islands to reduce phosphorus already in the lake. Additional
actions are anticipated this summer and beyond.
The 250-square-foot wetland islands are made of recycled plastic material and covered with soil and wetland
plants. The plants and the microorganisms that grow around their roots take up phosphorus and nitrogen from
the water. PADEP, local volunteers and others helped assemble, plant and position the islands last year.
Recent PADEP surveys found that the efforts had restored water quality to state standards; the nutrient control
practices so far have reduced nutrient pollution by about 10 percent of the estimated 22 percent called for in
the TMDL. By the end of 2015, the phosphorus load is expected to be reduced by 132 pounds per year. The
lake was removed from the impaired waters list in 2014 based on restored water quality standards and Aquatic
Life Uses. PADEP staff credits the community for its instrumental role in the successful outcome.
Nearly $1.7 million in EPA Section 319 non-point source grants from 2000 to 2014 were used for the
restoration actions. There were also state matching funds and earlier federal funding from the 1990s.
Contacts: Scott N, Heidel, 717-772-5647, PADEP; Fred Suffian, 215-814-5753, EPA WPD OSWP

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