Water Quality in Chester County

These resources provide a variety of information and tools to assist municipalities, conservation organizations, property owners and others interested in understanding and taking actions to improve the water quality of Chester County's streams.
What is a Watershed

No matter where you are, you're in a watershed. A watershed is the area of land (catchment area) that captures rain and snow, and then stores, filters, seeps or drains this water into a common water body (marsh, stream, river, or lake). Learn more ...
Impaired Waters

PADEP periodically assesses 1,394 stream miles in Chester County using a USEPA-approved assessment methodology to determine if a stream is meeting water quality standards. Learn more ...
MS4 Resources

Resources are available to assist Chester County municipalities with their ongoing stormwater management and water quality improvement efforts to address MS4 requirements. Learn more ...
TMDLs in Chester County

The goal of a TMDL is to reduce the pollutant load from the contributing land area so that water quality standards can be met in the future. Learn more ...
USGS-Chester County Cooperative Program

Monitoring data and information gathered by USGS scientists for Chester County (water quality, turbidity/sediment, and biodiversity) provide scientific data to help assess the state of our watersheds. Learn more ...
Water Quality Reports

From the water we drink to the streams, lakes, and rivers in which we play, the conditions of Chester County’s water resources impact the lives of every resident. Monitoring of water quality allows us to evaluate progress and whether or not we are maintaining or improving water resources.. Learn more ...
Keeping Streams Clean

Several materials and resources are available here for informing the public and property owners of the importance of protecting water quality of our streams and groundwater. Learn more ...
Commercial Water Labs

The Chester County Health Department maintains a list of commercial laboratories for water testing at this web page.