Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Community Association Dirt, Gravel, and Low-Volume Road Program

The Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Growing Greener program, is pleased to offer community associations a two-part program designed to help address road maintenance issues and correct sediment and nutrient pollution originating from dirt, gravel, and low-volume roads (low-volume defined as fewer than 500 vehicles per day) within the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed.

Part 1: Training Session – Thursday May 14 th , from 9-4

Community association representatives will attend a mandatory training session on environmentally sensitive maintenance practices presented by the Penn State Center for Dirt, Gravel, and Low-volume Road Studies. This training program will provide association road committees, maintenance staff, and/or contractors with best practices to maintain their privately-owned roads and reduce nutrient pollution to our lakes and streams. Practices presented in this training will help associations address frequent maintenance issues with sustainable and science-based solutions.

Part 2: Competitive Grant Program Application Period June 1- August 28, 2026

Any association that attended Part One (the training session) on May 14th is eligible to apply for grant funding to address pollution sources. Associations will be required to provide at least 25% of the total project cost as a match. Match contributions may be cash or in-kind. Project proposals must address worksites where nutrient/sedimentation directly impacts a stream or other waterway. Applications are due by August 28th. Additional details are included in the application file.

Eligible Project Examples:

Stormwater/drainage improvements
Road bank stabilization
Road base improvement
Road surface remediation (drainage improvements required prior to surface remediation)
Wetland crossing improvements
Roadside buffer implementation

Ineligible Projects:

Stream crossing improvements
Paving or installation of tar/chip surfacing (except replacement as part of drainage or culvert installation)
General maintenance
Worksites that do not directly impact a waterway.

Grant Applicant Requirements:

Community associations (“applicants”) MUST be incorporated and insured. You will be legally contracted as a sub-grantee
Applicant representatives must have completed Part One training to be eligible for funding.
Applicant is responsible for:
- determining prevailing wage requirements
- determining property-ownership or documenting right-of-way
- securing easements for work on privately-owned property
- project design, planning, and permitting
- hiring and contracting with their own contractor
A copy of association meeting minutes or other documentation verifying board approval for the funding amount must be included with the application
The applicant understands this is a reimbursement program and agrees to provide proof of payment to all contractors prior to requesting reimbursement.

Click here to download application

Help, Resources, and Technical Guidance for Applicants

The following information is provided to help your association plan, design, and submit your project proposal and application. Technical bulletins cover important details of the environmentally sensitive maintenance and construction practices discussed in the training workshop. PDF’s of the PowerPoint presentations are also linked below.

Special thanks to the Penn State Center for Dirt, Gravel, and Low-Volume Road Studies for partnering with LWWMD and sharing their expertise. Additional technical information can be found on the Center’s website, but the resources most relevant to the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed are included here.

Environmentally Sensitive Maintenance (ESM) Field Guide: A downloadable pdf of the spiral-bound booklet given to our workshop attendees.

Technical Bulletins

Pipes

Headwalls and Endwalls: General information on the benefits of headwalls and endwalls at pipes.
Stacked Stone Headwalls: Details on how to construct headwalls and endwalls out of native stone.
Crosspipe Installation: Important considerations and a walkthrough of a typical crosspipe installation.
Shallow Crosspipe Installation: Installing pipes based on outlet elevation, not road elevation, to eliminate outlet trenches.
Crosspipe Standard Detail Sheet

Sub-surface Drainage

French Mattress: French mattresses allow water to pass under a road through coarse stone.
Underdrains: General information on underdrains and where and why to use them.
Constructed Stone Underdrains: Walkthrough of creating your own underdrain with perforated pipe, clean stone, and fabric.
French Mattress Standard Detail Sheet

Surface Drainage

Surface Drainage Practices: Road maintenance features designed to shed water from the travelway, including crown and cross-slope, grade breaks, and broad-based dips.
Crown and Cross-Slope: Different types of crown and proper cross-slope for unpaved roads.
Grade Breaks: Grade breaks are surface drainage features that stop concentrated flow and road erosion.
Broad-Based Dips: Surface dips that transport water across the surface of a low volume road.
Surface Maintenance: General information on maintaining unpaved road surfaces.
Raising the Road Profile: Raising the elevation of the road to achieve better drainage.
Raising the Road Profile Standard Detail Sheet
Road Crown Standard Detail Sheet

Road Surface Maintenance

Carbide-Tipped Blade: Benefits of a carbide-tipped blade for surface maintenance operations.

Road Banks

Bank Benches: Steps created in a road bank to slow and control the flow of water over the bank.
“Through-the-Bank” Pipes: A pipe placed through the downhill road bank to get water out of the road profile.
“Through-the-Bank” Pipe Standard Detail Sheet
Crosspipe and “Through-the-Bank” Pipe Standard Detail Sheet

Driving Surface Aggregate (DSA)

DSA: A summary of the Center-developed DSA. Includes material specification, sampling and testing, preparation for placement, placement, compaction, maintenance, and other considerations.
Road Aggregates 101: A summary of size, gradation, and typical use for some of the more common aggregates for road maintenance in Pennsylvania. Includes course aggregates and rip-rap.

DGLVR Materials Calculator– This link will take you to the Materials Calculator page on the DGLVR Center ‘s website