Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association

A nonprofit organization
Fundraise

***Special Prize for all Donations $100 and up!***

Donate $100 for your shot at a free paddle tour for you and 5 of your friends! Donate $500=5x likelihood to get it!Tour includes all equipment and a lunch prepared by Ted, your Riverkeeper. Tour location and date TBD once discussed with you. The lucky person will be announced on Tuesday November 26th. 

OUR VISION

To Ensure drinkable, fishable, swimmable water on the Lower Susquehanna River and raise community awareness for current and future generations on the ecological and economic value of the Lower Susquehanna Watershed.

OUR MISSION

Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (LSRA) is dedicated to improving the ecological health of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. Current and future citizens deserve high water quality, wise and sustainable use of all aquatic resources, and preservation of aesthetic value of our waterways. Improvement will come about through education, research, advocacy, and insistence upon compliance with the law.

Your support during Extra Give Lancaster helps fund our programs and initiatives. Here are just a few highlights of our recent work.

FOCUS ON WATER Education & Recreat

ion To further our mission and to engage with more youth, we have acquired Shank's Mare Outfitters' well-established educational and recreational programming curriculum. We are hosting school field trips to introduce students to kayaking and river exploration while highlighting the importance of water quality through macroinvertebrate studies in local stre

ams.Through October 2024, we hosted 15 schools/camps (8 from Lancaster County) and roughly 1,300 students ages 10-21 joined us along the Susquehanna and her tributaries. Our programming also includes youth camps, guided tours, and indoor education. Our goal is to raise $40,000 in donations this year to help us expand the curriculum and the reach of our educational programm

ing.FOCUS ON WATER Water Watchdogs Bacteria Monitoring Progr

am

   In June 2023, we launched our Water Watchdog Weekly Bacteria Monitoring Program for the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed. The purpose of this program is to inform people when popular public river/creek accesses are safe for recreating, or not. Although we hope that water quality is safe all the time, that’s simply not the case especially during weather events when bacteria may enter streams and rivers through sewage overflows, improper treatment of waste, runoff of animal waste, and other ways. We measure E. coli counts using the IDEXX colilert 18 meth

o

d.​During the recreational season Memorial Day through Labor Day, we conduct weekly monitoring. Every Thursday our team of 35 volunteers collect samples at 15 sites throughout the watershed. In Lancaster County, we collected over 100 samples from 8 sites located on the Conestoga River, Pequea Creek, Lake Aldred, Columbia Riverfront Park, and Blue Rock Boat Launch. Our volunteers drove over 7,670 miles and dedicated 400 hours of their time to our program! During the season, we post results every Friday on our webpage, Facebook & Instagram pages and on the SwimGuide App. Learn more about Bacteria Mon


itoringFOCUS ON WATER Keystone Protein Settlement - Stream Rest

or

ation While we aren't a "shovels in the ground" stream restoration organization, we play our part. Did you know that when LSRA wins a Clean Water Act Citizen Suit against a polluter we DO NOT receive any of the monetary penalties? These penalties are often used to help facilitate restoration projects. The Conowingo Creek and Shearers Creek restorations are two examples of Lancaster County projects funded in part by a $1 million settlement between Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Keystone Protein Company. Our organization sued Keystone Protein Company for ongoing violations with their wastewater permit. Our advocacy work not only holds polluters accountable, but it helps to improve impacted streams in our watershed. More info on LSRA vs. Keystone Pr


otein FOCUS ON WATER The Great Plastic

Purge The Great Plastic Purge is one of our signature events. This two day cleanup event has removed thousands of pounds of plastic and trash from the Susquehanna with the help of our clean water partners and volunteers. Previous years have focused on both the Lake Clarke and Lake Aldred sections of the Susquehanna between Lancaster and York Counties. To date, we have removed over 14 tons from Lancaster's waterways. For 2025 we will be moving to Harrisburg with the hope of removing trash before it flows downstream through Lancaster County and eventually into the Chesapeake

Bay.  ADDITIONAL ISSUES THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING IN


Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association

Tax id (EIN)

68-0620499

Address

2098 Long Level Road
Wrightsville, PA 17368

Website

http://www.lowsusriverkeeper.org