News

Scroll down for an update on our conservation work, our ongoing campaigns, our upcoming events, our volunteer opportunities, and press.

2024 Year in Review

By Colleen O'Neil / February 24, 2025

Our 2024 Year in Review is hitting mailboxes across the country! Our supporters come from as far east as New Jersey and as far west as California. The diversity of…

Rockwood’s New Quarry: What You Should Know

By Colleen O'Neil / February 20, 2025

At the end of January 2025, the Daily American posted a blasting notice for the town of Rockwood, PA. Some community members were surprised and concerned that a new quarry…

ACTION ALERT: Keep Maryland Frack Free!

By Colleen O'Neil / February 8, 2025

The Youghiogheny watershed is in trouble. A new bill, just introduced in Maryland, could repeal the state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing. SB0878 threatens Garrett and Allegany Counties, Deep Creek, the…

Title V and Tenaska: Community Meeting Announcement 

By Em Hough / February 5, 2025

The Tenaska Generating Station is located in South Huntingdon Township, just behind the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. This 940-megawatt combined cycle power plant makes electricity using both a gas turbine and…

Nature’s Highways: Wildlife Corridors

By Chantelle Hutchens / January 29, 2025

What is a Wildlife Corridor?  A wildlife corridor, simply put, is a passageway or path of movement that wildlife use to complete their life cycle. A corridor can refer to…

Welcome to our new team members!

By Colleen O'Neil / January 29, 2025

We’ve gained two more terrific staff members at MWA, and a few positions have shifted around in the early weeks of 2025! Chantelle Hutchens has stepped into the position of…

Did you know? One of PA’s top 12 polluters is in Westmoreland County.

By Colleen O'Neil / December 4, 2024

Tenaska Generating Station is a 940 megawatt combined cycle natural gas fueled power plant operated by Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners. The power plant produces electricity from both natural gas and steam.…

Yough Defense Party – Thank You!

By Colleen O'Neil / December 4, 2024

This year’s Yough Defense Party was a truly memorable! We had a little bit of snowfall, several warm bonfires, and a whole lot of fun! Hopefully you did too. Throughout…

Five Tips for a River-Friendly Driveway

By Colleen O'Neil / December 3, 2024

The first snap of winter in the Youghiogheny River watershed brings out plow trucks, ice scrapers, snowblowers, piles of winter clothing, and road salt. Road salting helps keep drivers safe…

Fire Warnings for the Yough Watershed

By Colleen O'Neil / November 7, 2024

To reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires due to dry weather conditions, low water levels in communities, and fire activity, Pennsylvania DCNR, Maryland DNR, and the state of West Virginia…

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Blue Hole Creek still polluted, but no further action from PA DEP (ACTION ITEM)

April 30, 2026

A whole year after MWA learned about lead pollution in Blue Hole Creek in Forbes State Forest, this once-pristine stream remains contaminated…

Your Water Bill Could Go Up — Here’s What That Letter Really Means

April 27, 2026
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Recently, many Indian Creek Valley Water Authority (ICVWA) customers opened their mail and found a “Rate Impact Notice” about possible future rate…

MWA Files Appeal After $2.8M Cut to Mine-Damage Protections

April 21, 2026
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MWA has filed an appeal challenging a decision to cut millions of dollars in financial protections for damage from underground coal mining…

Happy Egg Season! What’s About to Hatch?

April 10, 2026

It’s my favorite time of year! EGG SEASON. No, not just Easter egg hunts. But the time of year where some birds…

The Vernal Pool, a Salamander Nursery!

April 3, 2026

I’ve been seeing a ton of social media posts about vernal pools, but, what are they?  What is a vernal pool? It’s…