Water Policy News

Water Policy News

November 1999
Water Policy News
Newsletter of the Water Resources Education Network

In this Issue

FOCUS ON ..... Philly Water Department -- Please Do Not Feed the Geese
Conewago Creek Study Underway
Groundwater Protected Areas in Southeastern Pennsylvania
Watershed Education in Radnor
Consumer Confidence Reports Due from Your Water Supplier
Groundwater Guardian Applications Now Accepted Year-round
The newsletter also include new resources and calendar entries.

FOCUS ON ..... Philly Water Department -- Please Do Not Feed the Geese
Feeding geese along the river is a harmless childhood activity, right? Not when the geese feeding spot is just upstream from a drinking water intake, says the Philadelphia Water Department. A popular goose feeding spot in Fairmont Park, upstream of the intake at the Belmont Water Treatment Plant on the Schuylkill River, is the focus of a WREN funded project designed to
educate the public about the threat to their drinking water posed by the gathering of geese.

The grazing and droppings from unnaturally large goose populations can damage the land and water. Studies have shown that geese can pass the infectious pathogen Cryptosporidium in their feces. In addition, the nutrient loading from the geese droppings contributes to algal blooms which
increase water treatment costs and create taste and order problems. High nutrient levels also decrease the amount of oxygen in the water, damaging the fish, plants, and other organisms that depend on the river.

The Philadelphia Water Department, in partnership with the Fairmont Park Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, has developed an educational sign, "Please Do Not Feed the Geese," which explains the problems the geese can cause. In addition, they have developed a planting plan of tall grasses, wildflowers and shrubs to make the current lawn area less attractive to the geese and volunteers have completed the planting along the river edge. The sign will be installed later this fall. For more information on this project, contact Chris Crockett at 215-685-6234.

Conewago Creek Study Underway
Conewago Creek drains a 330 square mile watershed in Adams County before joining the Susque-hanna River near York Haven in York County. The Adams County chapter of Trout Unlimited wants to develop a watershed restoration plan for the creek, the first step of which is a study to determine just what the stream quality is. Working with a number of partners and
volunteers, the group has developed a brochure that was sent to all the landowners along the thirty-two miles of Conewago Creek in Adams County to explain the project and enlist landowner support. Visits to garner support and interest from the 17 municipalities in the watershed have started and will continue over the winter months.

The group has also completed the first set of water and macroinvertebrate samples at 25 sites along the Conewago mainstem to analyze water quality. Volunteers will do the first level of sorting of the stream insects and Gettysburg College students will follow-up with a more refined study. A
second study is scheduled for Spring and, hopefully, high water flows. In addition to funding from the WREN project, the partnership has received a $ 5000 grant from the Coldwater Heritage Program of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Additional funding is pending. For more information about this project, contact Mel Brown at 717-642-8807 or email:
msbrown@cvn.com

Groundwater Protected Areas in Southeastern Pennsylvania
Absent an effective water resources management law in Pennsylvania, use of groundwater in much of southeastern Pennsylvania is regulated by the Delaware River Basin Commission through the Ground Water Protected Area Regulations. The regulations were adopted in 1980 by the DRBC, at the request of Pennsylvania, when it became evident that development was negatively impacting groundwater levels.

The regulations require a permit from DRBC for withdrawals over 10,000 gallons/day on a 30-day basis. The regulations were recently amended to base withdrawal limits on water conditions in each of the 76 subbasins either partially or entirely in the area. In areas designated "potentially stressed," applicants for new withdrawals must implement programs to mitigate adverse impacts of additional withdrawals such as expanded water conservation programs and artificial recharge and spray irrigation. In the second tier of protection, maximum withdrawal limits are established and
total withdrawals cannot exceed that limit.

The regulations also establish procedures for supporting municipal plans. If all the municipalities in a sub-basin adopt an "integrated water resource plan" that addresses future water use, options for wastewater discharge and floodplain and stormwater management, the DRBC will recognize
those plans in their permit review.

The Ground Water Protected Area takes in approximately 1200 square miles and includes 127 municipalities in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Lehigh, and Berks counties. For more information visit the DRBC website at http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/ (choose What We Do/ Pennsylvania Ground Water Protected Area).

Watershed Education in Radnor
For the last thirteen years, thirty-six seventh graders in Radnor Middle School have dug deep into watershed issues. The Radnor Middle School WATERSHED Program focuses on a different area stream each year and builds all curriculum around that stream. Rather than separate the traditional
content areas, all subjects are covered within the overlying theme of the study stream.

History concentrates on the changing peoples who lived in the region, reading and writing assignments deal with regional and water resource issues, science focuses on water quality testing and analysis, along with local geology and a study of the region's birds, their habitat and their migratory patterns. This year's students are exploring the Schuylkill River Watershed and will add coal mining and its legacy to the history curriculum.

While a number of stream studies involve mathematical concepts, students do take math as a separate course as well. The program is popular with students: the thirty-six students are selected each year by lottery from 100-150 applicants. Testing has shown that graduates of the program do at least as well as their peers in following years.

Two teachers are responsible for the program and find it intensive, time-consuming and requiring lots of planning, but a fabulous way to reach kids and a great success at community building. Paula Wynn, who directs the program following the retirement of the program cofounder, Ed Silcox (Watershed Ed), says, "I could never go back to traditional classroom teaching." For more information on the program contact Wynn, or her associate, Tom Rendulich, at 610-386-6300 ext. 6800.

Consumer Confidence Reports Due from Your Water Supplier
By October 19, 1999 every customer of a public water supply that serves more than 25 residents year round should have received a report detailing what's in the water. The report must include:

the source of the drinking water -- what lake, stream or aquifer the
water comes from;
a summary of how susceptible the water is to contamination;
what contaminants have been detected in the water, the likely source and
the EPA health standard for that contaminant;
information on health effects of any contaminant that exceeds the EPA
standard and steps being taken to correct the violation.

In addition educational information on arsenic, nitrate and lead, if detected at levels above 50% of EPA standards, on Cryptosporidium and general information on contaminants and their presence in drinking water must be included.

The report must also give contact information for the water supplier and how to get more complete information about the water supply. The reports are a requirement of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, included with the intent that as consumers know more about their water supply they will take action in their community to see that it is protected. Consumers should review the reports carefully to learn more about their drinking water and where it comes from, and remember that there are hundreds of man-made chemicals that could potentially be in the water for which EPA
presently has no testing requirements.

This newsletter is a project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Citizen Education Fund - WREN. Funded by a grant from the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection

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