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| Contact SRBC at (717) 238-0423, ext 302 or by e-mail at srbc@srbc.net for a copy of this 8-page executive summary. The full report is available on SRBC's web site at www.srbc.net or by CD-Rom. |
On September 20, SRBC held a public meeting in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, to release its findings and recommendations from a 3-year groundwater quantity study, Northern Lancaster County Groundwater Study: A Resource Evaluation of the Manheim-Lititz and Ephrata Area Groundwater Basins.
In the study, SRBC concluded that with proper planning and management, the area's water supplies can sustain projected growth and development, based on currently approved allocations. In those findings, however, SRBC emphasized that due to the unique geology combined with the increasing water demands in that area, water supplies are potentially stressed, requiring good and vigilant water resources management to ensure sustainable supplies.
The 70-square-mile study area includes parts of 8 townships and 5 boroughs, whose water supply needs are met almost entirely by groundwater. The population in 2000 was about 61,000 with projected growth to 76,905 by 2025. The water use in 2000 was about 3.4 billion gallons per year and is projected to increase to 4.3 billion gallons per year by 2025. Within the study area, SRBC delineated and detailed two distinct groundwater basins: (1) Manheim-Lititz groundwater basin - 21.8 square miles and covers parts of Rapho, Penn, Warwick, and Elizabeth Townships, and Manheim and Lititz Boroughs; and (2) Ephrata area groundwater basin - 48.4 square miles and covers parts of Elizabeth, Clay, Ephrata, Warwick, West Cocalico, and East Cocalico Townships, and parts of Akron, Ephrata, and Denver Boroughs.
SRBC developed a series of 12 management recommendations to address the water resource problems in the study area. The recommendations cover a range of issues, including how to prevent the loss of recharge areas, what additional actions are needed in potentially groundwater stressed areas, the importance of promoting other non-traditional sources of water, and the importance of increasing awareness.
