COMMUNITY-BASED WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROJECTS IN CLINTON, CENTRE, AND CLEARFIELD COUNTIES, PA

In the wake of the Marcellus drilling surge in central Pennsylvania, Lock Haven University’s Water and Environmental lab forged partnerships with several community organizations to monitor surface water quality in the vicinity Marcellus activity. These organizations include the Clearfield and Centre County chapters of the Pennsylvania Senior Environmental Corps, Beech Creek Watershed Association, and the South Renovo Borough Water Supply System. With the cooperation of our partners, several sub-watersheds of the West Branch Susquehanna River, including the Hall Run, Beech Creek, and various other small watersheds in Clearfield County, have been selected for assessment. The field parameters included temperature, pH, DO, TDS, conductance, ORP, and stream flow. Additional lab analyses yielded cation and anion values, including total iron, aluminum, manganese, copper, calcium, magnesium, zinc, arsenic, barium, bromine, sulfate, nitrate, phosphate, and chloride. Based on the field and lab results, the following conclusions have been reached: 1. The water quality in the Hall Run watershed is pristine and meets drinking water standards for all tested parameters; 2. Although seasonal variations of several parameters were recorded in the Beech Creek watershed, none of the levels were of high enough values to warrant concern; 3. Not enough data has been collected in the small watersheds in Clearfield County to reach any firm conclusions about the possible seasonal and temporal variations in the measured parameters; and 4. Based on current data, no evidence of negative impact from Marcellus Shale gas-well drilling on surface water quality has been detected. In addition, these projects have provided invaluable hands-on experiences for LHU students, while assisting surrounding counties by partnering with several community-based volunteer programs that are active with environmental and ecological impacts of human activities on natural resources.