ASSESSING WATER QUALITY IMPACTS IN THE PIKE RUN WATERSHED, WASHINGTON COUNTY, PA

A common problem in southwestern Pennsylvania is legacy impacts associated with coal mine drainage and nutrient runoff due to the history of coal mining and continued agriculture in the region. Pike Run, a tributary to the Monongahela River and local to the California University of Pennsylvania campus, has been targeted to examine the effect of these characteristic land uses in the region on this stream’s water quality. Routine testing for bulk parameters of pH and conductivity, and several specific chemical constituents has been conducted along the stream over several weeks in order to compile the data and highlight potential contamination. The watershed for Pike Run has been analyzed spatially with layers for historical coal mining sites, land use, and subsurface lithology to find correlation in the data and highlight potential source areas. Initial water sampling was conducted for manganese, iron, copper, aluminum, and hardness using field spectrophotometers. While other parameters were lower than expected, elevated levels of manganese were recorded, well above EPA drinking water standards, in multiple locations along the stream. Iron has also been routinely tested for along with manganese, but resulting values for iron have largely been below detection limits or trivially low. Sources of the manganese within the watershed are unclear at this time, especially compared to the low iron levels which are unusual for the broader regional water quality.