Beaver Creek

Susquehanna River, downstream of Otsego Lake headwaters in Otsego County, NY

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Southern Tier New York Susquehanna Basin Monitoring Collaborative

Collaborative Stakeholder locations and NYDEC Regional Headquarters that serve the Susquehanna River Basin. The Upper Susquehanna and Chemung Basins in New York State are about 6,300 square miles in size, include more than 11,500 stream miles, and have a human population greater than 600,000.

The Southern Tier New York Susquehanna Basin Monitoring Collaborative (Collaborative) supports the activities of stakeholders who share the common goals of protecting and enhancing the water quality in the Southern Tier portions of the Susquehanna and Chemung River watersheds in New York State.

The Collaborative is funded for five years (2023 through 2028) through a Water Quality Management Planning Grant from New York State (Clean Water Act, Section 604(b)), enhanced with additional funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (November 2021). This grant will focus on targeted surface water monitoring plans to support statewide water quality reporting or implementation initiatives in this region.

The Focus of the Collaborative's Work

  • Coordinating surface water monitoring activities among numerous stakeholders
  • Creating a solid framework for coordinating water quality management planning activities
  • Maintaining a regional water quality monitoring dashboard of collective efforts.
News & Announcements
Meetings & Events Calendar
  • Check back for future Steering Committee meetings dates, past agendas and presentation materials.
Dashboard
Southern Tier New York Susquehanna Basin Monitoring Collaborative Dashboard Click to explore SRBC’s interactive dashboard for the Southern Tier New York Susquehanna Basin Monitoring Collaborative

Key Regional Partners

The Collaborative is comprised of five regional partners. Please see the Partner Resources section below for more information on these partners:

Steering Committee

SRBC chairs the Steering Committee, which consists of the partners above and the additional organizations listed below. Please see Stakeholder Resources below for more information.

Partner Resources

Explore the links below to learn more about partner monitoring efforts:

Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM)

ALLARM is a community science organization based at Dickinson College that builds the capacity of communities to use science as a tool to investigate stream health, and to use those data for local change. ALLARM is also a service provider in the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative, which integrates data collected by volunteer scientists across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

ALLARM Logo Dickinson Logo Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative Logo

Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board (STC)

STC offers watershed planning assistance including water quality sampling plans, flooding and climate change resiliency development, lake management, and publications available through each county’s Water Quality Strategy Committee.

Southern Tier 8 Regional Board (ST8)

ST8 provides water quality planning and stormwater management resources for all 8 counties served, including services to 15 municipalities in MS4 regions in Broome and Tioga Counties.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water (NYDEC)

NYDEC's headquarters is housed at the Central Office in Albany. The state is divided into nine regions, with five regions falling within the Susquehanna River Basin, each with its own headquarters and sub-offices. NYDEC’s Division of Water has several programs dedicated to protecting the water resources of the state.

NYS DEC Logo

Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC)

SRBC is an interstate agency that focuses on the water resources of the Susquehanna River Basin and has several monitoring initiatives that occur throughout the New York portion of the basin.

Stakeholder Resources

Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC)

USC consists of a collaborative effort between 22 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (18 in NY and 4 in PA), local citizens, and agencies in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin. USC’s mission is to protect and improve water quality and natural resources through planning, education, coordination, funding, project implementation, and advocacy. Multiple restoration teams including the Ag Team, Buffer Team, Stream Team, and Wetland Team assist farmers, districts, and other regional organizations meet water quality and environmental goals.

USC Logo

Upper Susquehanna Conservation Alliance (USCA)

USCA is an alliance of agencies, organizations, academic institutions, and individuals working to protect and enhance the Upper Susquehanna/Chesapeake Bay watershed. Through annual meetings and self-directed workgroups, members collaborate and share resources and ideas on the following topics: Landscape Conservation and Planning, Flooding, Invasive Species, Road Side Ditches, Eastern Brook Trout, Eastern Hellbenders, Freshwater Mussels, American Eels, and Outreach.

USCA Logo

About The Collaborative

With substantial and ever-mounting demands placed on its water resources, those who reside in and otherwise rely on New York State’s Susquehanna and Chemung River Watersheds will benefit from a solid framework for coordinating water quality management planning activities throughout the region.

New York State portions of the Susquehanna and Chemung River Watersheds, which cover approximately 6,300 square miles, include more than 11,500 stream miles, and have a human population greater than 600,000.

The grant program for Section 604(b) of the federal Clean Water Act for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is intended to fund regional comprehensive Water Quality Management Planning activities, and the proposed Collaborative project thoroughly addresses New York and EPA’s stated needs and intentions with respect to Section 604(b). In particular, the Collaborative places emphasis on achieving goals under Objective 6, which focuses on targeted surface water monitoring to support statewide water quality reporting or a specific planning or implementation initiative.

Baldwin Creek Baldwin Creek, tributary to the Chemung River near Lowman, NY

About SRBC

SRBC’s water quality monitoring experience in the region includes responsibility for the five Chesapeake Bay Partnership’s non-tidal network monitoring sites located in New York State; 12 real-time continuous instream monitoring (CIM) stations (most of which were deployed in 2010-2011); a pair of CIM stations that are part of SRBC’s Early Warning System furnishing real-time water quality information to potable water suppliers withdrawing from mainstem rivers in the Susquehanna River Basin; and numerous locations sampled for water quality parameters, biologic characterization, flow, and habitat traits. SRBC will coordinate surface water monitoring activities among numerous entities that work in this region of New York State.

Water Quality Monitoring in the New York Portion of the Susquehanna Basin SRBC’s monitoring in the Upper Susquehanna Subbasin in New York and Pennsylvania.

Contacts