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Good Morning!
My name is Larry Tropea and I am Deputy Secretary for Water Management with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
On behalf of Secretary Seif, I would like to welcome all of you to the first ever DEP Groundwater Symposium.
Today, DEP opens an important dialogue about water resources by hosting this Symposium. Your attendance attests to the strong and growing interest in water issues and I am excited to see the diversity of backgrounds in the audience. I believe this Symposium can open up new avenues for collaboration and partnership that will be of critical value as we move forward with our watershed approach in Pennsylvania.
But first I must make some apologies….if you came today to listen to numbers, statistics and other related minutia, you may leave disappointed.
Instead, I want to talk to you on a strategic level about Pennsylvania, about our watershed approach and about some exciting activities underway across our great state. Also, I want to ask for your help in taking a fresh look at water resources needs across Pennsylvania.
In my time as Deputy Secretary, I have been honored to dedicate flood protection improvements designed to save lives and protect property. I have presided over the lifting of our statewide drought watch and assisted in the development of PEMA’s new drought regulations.
In fact, some of DEP’s veterans have told me that the following "principles" apply in Pennsylvania….Let’s see if you would agree:
While these so-called "principles" may not always be true, they do illustrate that water resources management is complex, challenging and…exciting!
We Pennsylvanians are blessed to live in the most beautiful state in our nation. In my opinion, nothing can beat……
But, with this beautiful natural wonder there comes a responsibility – a responsibility for every person in this room and others across the state – a responsibility to preserve and protect the richness and the character of Pennsylvania.
By nature of my position and my love for the outdoors, I unofficially call myself, the Chief Executive Officer for Pennsylvania Water.
I often tell people that water is the "center of the universe." My colleagues find this amusing at times, but there is more truth than humor in this statement. For example, Pennsylvania’s ground water is a critical resource that provides environmental benefits and contributes to the well-being of our citizens and the economic growth potential of the Commonwealth
Ground water is also very important to the protection of Pennsylvania’s surface streams, since it provides a significant percent of the sustaining baseflow to the approximately 83,000 miles of streams and rivers.
And, most importantly, Pennsylvania’s 12 million people rely upon ground water and treated surface water for their drinking water. In fact, over 21 percent of Pennsylvanians rely upon private ground water supplies….which is a very significant number. Each year, almost 15,000 new wells are drilled, adding to our inventory of nearly one million existing wells….the second highest number in the nation.
When you add community water systems into the equation, it becomes clear that nearly half of the population of Pennsylvania uses ground water for their drinking water supplies. In many rural areas, almost 100 percent of the population depends on ground water.
Clean water is also essential to aquatic life. On Sunday, my wife and I hiked a part of Yellow Breeches Creek in Cumberland County. We saw firsthand its clear waters and abundant trout and watched children become exhilarated – as I once was – hauling in a big catch.
Water is the fuel of the Pennsylvania economic engine that provides jobs for our citizens and grows our economy.
And, quite candidly, we have taken our water resources for granted for many years and assumed they will always be available to us in adequate quantity and quality.
As you may already be aware, National Drinking Water Week and National Ground Water Awareness Week were both observed last week. It is fitting that both were observed simultaneously because the issues of ground water and drinking water are so often intertwined.
However, more and more, it is the quantity and quality of our water – both ground water and surface water – that are becoming intertwined - and being thought of as a single resource.
If you haven’t noticed, a revolution is underway across Pennsylvania….not with muskets or cannons….but with shovels, brainpower and good old Pennsylvania resolve. Watershed organizations across the state are growing and taking an active role in watershed planning and restoration. The Governor’s Growing Greener Program is fueling some tremendous projects that will achieve environmental results and also build the capacity of local groups for the future.
The Pennsylvania watershed approach allows a comprehensive view of a watershed and facilitates protection of both our surface and ground water resources, among other benefits. The Pennsylvania watershed approach promotes:
If you are not already…each and every person in this room needs to "get on the boat" and be a part of this comprehensive Pennsylvania watershed approach. Great opportunities exist for making a difference in your local watershed and encouraging other local citizens to chart a course to environmental excellence.
I give great credit to the Governor’s 21st Century Commission for its thoughtful blueprint for enhancing our environment, our economy and our communities.
In their report, the Commission states:
"Because of its natural abundance, Pennsylvania has historically taken water supply for granted. Droughts or floods counted as infrequent emergencies requiring short-term corrections, not long-term policy. However, the available quantity of water will be an increasing problem for the Commonwealth. As the state’s population has grown and shifted, per capita water use has risen, causing increasing conflicts among water uses. With an outdated state water plan, we do not have a solid understanding of the amount of water available by subbasin, the amount of water needed by the streams and rivers to support their aquatic communities, or the amount of water available for future land uses."
Consistent with this conclusion, Secretary Jim Seif has recently directed DEP to proceed with developing an integrated approach to water resources management that considers both the quantity and quality of ground and surface waters. Secretary Seif has asked me to form a team of internal experts to consider Pennsylvania’s broad range of water needs, and to draft a legislative proposal for comprehensive, integrated water management.
We plan to hold informational meetings later this year and intend to include a broad range of interests in developing our final recommendations, relying on the recommendations of the 21st Century Environment Commission, as well as the Citizens Advisory Council position statement on water resources management and recent work done by several committees of the General Assembly.
In closing, I believe it is a great time for the environment, and a great time to be a Pennsylvanian…with even more exciting times ahead of us.
Through the Pennsylvania watershed approach, let us work together to ensure that we preserve the water resources needed for our citizens and to grow our economy, while protecting the environment and overall our water resources bounty for future generations.
Join with me today to renew your commitment to being good stewards of Penn’s Woods and preserving our natural resources legacy, and the environment for the generations that will follow us.
Thank You.