Big Spring Watershed Association

08/14/2026

ICYMI 👇

Last week, Pennsylvania DEP Deputy Secretary for Water programs, Jill Whitcomb, and Dustin Shull, assessment section chief with the Bureau of Clean Water visited WITF's The Spark to talk about how we track PA waters 👉 bit.ly/witf-waterquality

Read the report for yourself to see how the waters are doing in your community 👉 bit.ly/iwqr2026

07/31/2026

We had a great turnout for the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring - ALLARM stream team meeting last night. If you are interested in volunteering as a water quality monitor, message me or email Joey Knouse who is ALLARM's volunteer coordinator. Find his email in one of the posted photos. There will be a training of monitoring volunteers on October 1 from 5 to 6. This is a great opportunity to help protect this vital resource.

07/28/2026

Our Stream Team meeting is in just a few days on Thursday, July 30th at 7:00 pm at the First United Presbyterian Church in Newville. Join us to learn about the water quality of the Big Spring and find out more about opportunities to be a water quality monitor!

07/15/2026

Here is the final article in the Valley Star Times recognizing BSWA's 25 anniversary. This installment looks at the challenges and opportunities ahead.

In the lifespans of aquatic organisms, 25 years is more than enough generations to measure progress. Ammonia levels dropped. Dissolved oxygen and other water chemistry measures significantly improved. Water cress

07/06/2026

The Valley Times Star's series on the history of BSWA continues with its 3rd installment. This article explores some of BSWA's recent achievements.

Historic preservation is another BSWA goal. Even before the conservation plan, there was an idea to transform the “Barrel Factory”, a remnant outbuilding of the former McCracken Mill, into a

06/28/2026

Interested in making sure that Big Spring’s water quality remains protected? Join our Stream Team conducting water quality monitoring! BSWA is working with ALLARM of Dickinson College to expand our monitoring efforts and we are looking for new volunteers. Join us for our meeting on July 30th at the First United Presbyterian Church to learn more about the data we have gathered and next steps.

06/20/2026

BSWA is at the Fountain Festival today. Stop by and say “hi.”

06/18/2026

Here is the 2nd installment of the 4-part series on the Big Spring and BSWA's efforts over the last 25 years.

In the lifetime of Big Spring Watershed Association (BSWA), twenty-five years is a moment to reflect on where we began, what we have achieved, and where we may be headed.

06/13/2026

The Big Spring Watershed Association is celebrating 25 years since its founding. Blyden Potts has written a series of articles for the Valley Times Star chronicling BSWA and its efforts to protect and enhance the Big Spring. Here is the first article tracing the Big Spring's decline and the efforts by a number of committed conservationists to bring Big Spring back in the late 1990s.

In the geologic lifetime of the Big Spring, even the arrival of humans, Native Americans, tens of thousands of years ago, is recent. The arrival of Europeans, three centuries ago,

06/06/2026

We had a great turnout for the trash cleanup. We collected 5 bags of trash, 2 tires, a plastic bin, and a single air Jordan sneaker. Kudos to Chris Laburtis for digging the tires out of the stream bed. Thank you to everyone for helping keeping Big Spring free of trash.