The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will invest more than $20.65 million in watershed protection projects, the state announced on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Six watershed protection projects in Chester County will receive $980,828 of the state funding through the Growing Greener Program, State Sen. Andy Dinniman in a news release.

“Protecting our streams and pristine waterways is fundamental to the safety of our drinking water and the health of our communities,” Dinniman said. “These grants go a long way in ensuring that our natural resources are preserved and safeguarded for generations to come.”

The grants, which come through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, include:

• $150,000 for the implementation of storm-water best management practices in the City of Coatesville.
• $159,000 for the Red Clay Valley Association’s East Branch Red Clay Stream Restoration project.
• $400,000 for the Stroud Water Research Center for Chester County agricultural best management practices planning and implementation.
• $66,498 for Valley Forge Trout Unlimited for the Friendship Drive Infiltration Trench.
• $53,030 for the White Clay Watershed Association for riparian buffer restoration at New Garden Township Park.
• $152,300 for the YMCA of the Upper Main Line for the implementation of storm-water best management practices and dam removal.

The Growing Greener Program, funded by the Environmental Stewardship Fund, aims to invest in projects that protect watersheds from impairment due to non-point source pollution and to restore waterways damaged by non-point source pollution, the release said.

“Growing Greener has been a statewide success story for environmental conservation and reclamation in Pennsylvania,” Dinniman said. “I’m proud to say that we have continued to expand and build on this historic investment in our watersheds and open spaces.”

The grant recipients represented 97 projects that were funded out of 162 eligible applicants statewide, the release said.