Awards and Grants

2014 Stream Partners Grant

The SCWA was awarded a $2,500 Stream Partners Grant from the West Virginia Watershed Network in October 2013. The grant is to be used to support and promote the SCWA through upgrading and its website and interfacing with social media and other technological applications.

2013 – The Perfect TEN Award

The SCWA was awarded “The Perfect TEN (Trees, Entomology, & Neighbors) Award” at the annual West Virginia Watershed Celebration Day on November 2, 2013. SCWA was recognized for its efforts to provide and plant trees to increase riparian buffers, monitor stream water quality, and educate residents and local officials on water quality and its importance in the local community.

2011 Project Implementation Award

The SCWA was awarded a Project Implementation Award on November 5, 2011 at the 13 Annual WV Watershed Celebration Day. The award recognized the association’s expanding volunteer project efforts in stream pollution monitoring, septic tank clean-up, and porous pavement demonstration in the Morgan County Industrial Park. Their efforts were recognized as “a great example of how a small group of people working at the local level can make a difference.”

2010 Outreach and Education Award

The SCWA was awarded and Outreach and Education Award on November 6, 2010 at the 12^th Annual WV Watershed Celebration Day. The association was recognized for their volunteer efforts on reminding landowners on how to be good stewards to the watershed through publication of helpful brochures and presentations at the local fair and festivals. Jennifer Pauer, WV Watershed Network Member, recognized SCWA members as “special people,” who are will to go the extra mile to improve the quality of the Sleepy Creek Watershed and the life of its human, fauna and flora inhabitants.

2008 Water Quality Monitoring Award

The SCWA received the Water Quality Monitoring Award on November 1, 2008 at the annual WV Watershed Celebration Day. SCWA Water Monitoring team was recognized for their volunteer effort in monitoring water quality along the main stream of Sleepy Creek and the Indian Run tributary. They measured frequency of macro invertebrates as well as dissolved oxygen and “PH” levels. Their reports were analyzed and sent to WV’s Save Our Streams program which tracks trends in stream health throughout the state.

2006 Stream Partners Grant

The SCWA received a $5,000 gram from the WV Stream Partners Program to implement water quality improvement projects during 2006 and 2007. The grant is intended for community organizations to compile comprehensive educational handouts for landowners along Sleepy Creek to inform them about stream bank stabilization, riparian buffers, septic tank management, and other related water quality issues. Part of the grant, too, will be used to plant a demonstration riparian buffer along Sleepy Creek using trees, shrubs, and other native vegetation.

2005 WV Watershed of the Year

The SCWA was named the West Virginia Watershed Association of the Year for 2005 at the September 24, 2005 WV Watershed Celebration Day. The recognition was accompanied with a $5,000 cash award and highway signs to be posted in Morgan County. “These groups are at the very heart of environmental protection efforts in West Virginia,” said Department of Environmental Protection Cabinet Secretary Stephanie R. Timmermeyer. “Over the past decade the watershed movement has really gained momentum. Having citizens who are willing and able to step up and make a positive difference helps us promote a healthy environment.”

2003 EPCD Watershed of the Year

The Eastern Panhandle Conservation District (EPCD) recognized SCWA as the 2003 EPCD Watershed of the Year at their annual awards banquet held September 27, 2003. The EPCD recognized the extraordinary efforts of SCWA’s 45 members in protecting and preserving Sleep Creek and its watershed and in educating the community on the value of this precious natural resource in Morgan County.