Now in its 7th year, Lancaster Water Week celebrates the 1,400 miles of streams and rivers in Lancaster County, PA. These cricks and creeks are the source of our drinking water, drive economic and agricultural growth, and allow us to escape into nature to fish, paddle, and swim. Many of these beautiful streams are polluted, but there is an incredible effort underway to bring them back to health in our lifetime.

Join us during Water Week for over 20 events as we paddle, stomp, explore, volunteer, and take action as a community to protect our streams and rivers for the future!

The Lancaster Clean Water Fund serves as a catalyst for increased collaboration with partners to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of current and future clean water projects. Across Lancaster County, clean water is a priority. With over half of Lancaster County streams and much of our groundwater unhealthy, our community is PA’s priority area for reducing specific pollutants (nutrient and sediment) by 2025 in accordance with Lancaster’s Countywide Action Plan (CAP). Over a quarter of Lancaster Water Week sponsorships go to support this fund.

The Lancaster Clean Water Partners is committed to reaching clean and clear water by 2040. The Lancaster Clean Water Fund provides a unique opportunity to work with landowners, leaders, and communities across the county on education, restoration, and protection projects to improve water quality. The fund supports projects that address clean water priorities as well as the pollution reduction goals in Lancaster’s CAP.

Community Conservation Grant | $1,000-$15,000 | The Community Conservation Grant supports education, outreach, and regional engagement projects that improve Lancaster’s water quality through collaboration and creativity. Projects can range from educational campaigns to art installations to water quality monitoring equipment. Applicants are encouraged to describe how their project will prioritize collaboration with new Lancaster County partners in an effort to collectively protect water, create habitats, and encourage outdoor exploration.

Clean Water Implementation Small Grant | $5,000-$25,000 | The Clean Water Implementation Small Grant supports implementation of collaborative, watershed-scale restoration projects that encourages diverse audiences to improve Lancaster’s water quality at a rapid pace.

Clean Water Implementation Large Grant | $200,000-$500,000 | The Clean Water Implementation Large Grant supports installation of high- impact projects in priority locations to achieve nutrient and sediment reductions for Lancaster’s Countywide Action Plan (CAP).