INORGANIC GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WATER QUALITY OF CATFISH BOG AT CRYSTAL LAKE CAMPS, LYCOMING COUNTY, PA

In 2010 and 2012, the Aqueous Geochemistry students from Bloomsburg University analyzed the water chemistry of the watershed around Crystal Lake Camps near Hughesville, PA. The goal was to establish baseline data prior to hydraulic fracturing just outside the watershed. As anticipated, construction of a hydraulic fracturing well (Able 5H, Chesapeake Appalachia LLC) was completed in 2013 and began operations. For some reason, the well was plugged and capped in early 2015. On October 16, 2016, we sampled the area of Catfish Bog/Mud lake, replicating some of the sample sites from previous studies as well as adding additional sites in order to assess whether we could detect any differences in the inorganic water chemistry of the bog. On site, we measured pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity and acidity, and preserved samples for later analyses in the lab. We used ion chromatography to analyze for the cations ammonium, potassium, sodium, and calcium, all of which might indicate contamination by fracking fluid, as well as strontium and barium, potential indicators of contamination by produced water. We also analyzed the samples for a suite of anions, including chloride, bromide, nitrate and sulfate, all of which are potential contaminants from fracking operations. In addition, we analyzed filtered and unfiltered samples using ICP-OES for 11 metals. Higher pH and alkalinity and lower turbidity were observed, possibly due to the much lower water levels in 2016. We observed no elevated levels of any of the ions or metals that might result from contamination by hydraulic fracturing, indicating that although there may have been some short term effects, a year out, no effects were detected. This was good news, but not unexpected, as the well pad was located outside the watershed.