By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association

Clean water, yada yada. Why do we worry about water anyway? It’s everywhere. It comes out of the sky! It comes out of the ground!

Here, in the watershed of the Brodhead Creek [in Monroe County], it’s true that water is abundant.

We have more miles of creeks and streams in Pennsylvania than any other state except Alaska.

And thanks to local vigilance, of all the creeks in Pennsylvania, ours are the cleanest and most pristine. By far.

When there’s so much of it, it’s hard to remember that water is a highly delicate resource.

It doesn’t take much to impair it or to pollute it. And with every acre of woods that’s clearcut, not to mention every new load of winter road salt, drinking water in our area is at risk.

If you paid attention after the heavy rains this past December, you saw creek water running brown.

Some people may shrug it off, thinking “that’s natural” or “it’ll clear up.”

They’re missing an important truth: that much muddy sediment is definitely not “normal.”

Some cloudiness is natural — heavy rain means more friction between the fast-flowing water and the creek bed and banks. That stirs up particles of soil and organic matter from the bottom of the creek itself.

But when the water looks like milk chocolate, that’s not natural.

Brown water means heavy erosion from creek banks that have been mowed and stripped of vegetation, killing the natural net of roots that keeps the bank in place.

Brown water means stormwater runoff is pouring from rooftops, miles of strip malls and paved parking lots, from overflowing detention basins and swales, and from expanses of once-forested, now-denuded land.

Treating winter roads with salt adds another contaminant to oil, gas, and road debris.

All the water that ever existed on planet Earth is here now, naturally recycled and reused, endlessly, down the eons, since water first formed.

Older than the hills, it is a gift from the past that we owe to the future.  

You can help.

If you see something that doesn’t seem right in a stream, go to Brodhead Watershed Association and click on Who to Call When You See a Problem in a Stream.

Visit the Brodhead Protecting Clean Water Together Series webpage to learn more about keeping water clean.

For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Brodhead Watershed Association website or Follow them on Facebook.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Association.  Click Here to become a member.

How Clean Is Your Stream?

The draft 2024 report has an interactive report viewer that allows you to zoom in to your own address to see if the streams near you are impaired and why.

Click Here to check out your streams.  Click Here for a tutorial on using the viewer.

Resource Link:

-- DEP 2024 Water Quality Report Shows 28,820 Miles Of Streams With Impaired Water Quality In PA (34%) - An Increase From 27,886 In 2022 [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week - Watersheds:

-- DEP Announces Over $12 Million In Watershed Restoration, Stormwater Infrastructure Grants Funded In-Part By Mariner East Pipeline Penalties, Federal American Rescue Plan Funding  [PaEN]

-- DEP Chesapeake Bay Update: Funding Opportunities, Projects Supported; County Clean Water Updates; Much More!   [PaEN]

-- USDA Announces March 1 Application Deadline For Conservation Stewardship Program In PA  [PaEN]

-- Appalachian Region Independent Power Producers Assn. Accepting Applications For Mine Reclamation Grants  [PaEN]

-- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals: Registration Now Open For Level I Training, Certification; PA DCNR Offering Scholarships  [PaEN]

-- PA Sea Grant, Partners Offer Choose Native Plants Workshops For Landscape Professionals In Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia  [PaEN]

-- DEP: Shale Gas Operator Found Responsible For Water Supply Contamination After Investigation Documents Chemical Contamination Spread Across 3 Townships In Greene County  [PaEN]

-- Pike Conservation District: 2023 Water Quality Report; Pennsylvania's Forests; Vote For Lackawaxen River!  [PaEN]

-- Protecting Clean Water Together: What’s The Big Deal About Water Anyway? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association   [PaEN]

-- Water At Risk Series: The Brodhead Watershed Association Helps Monroe County Municipalities Protect Clean Water - How About Yours? - By Carol Hillestad for the Brodhead Watershed Association   [PaEN]

-- Water Center At Penn Hosts Jan. 25 Webinar On Lower Delaware River Bacteria Study  [PaEN]

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Hosts Jan. 12 In-Person Workshop On Climate Art And Networking For Watershed Leaders & Stewards  [PaEN]

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Host Jan. 15 Webinar On Climate Change Impact On Black Communities  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Jan. 29 Webinar On Green Infrastructure And Salty Stormwater  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Lancaster Farmland Trust: The Salisbury Township Story - The Impact Of Community Outreach On Farm Conservation Work [Video] 

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Volunteers Aim To Restore Stream With Artificial Beaver Dams

-- Huntingdon Daily News: Novel Penn State Tool Informs Land Use And Nutrient Control In Troubled Waters

-- McCall: Monocacy Creek Advocacy Group Concerned About Proposed Lehigh Valley Warehouse

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Jan. 5 RiverWatch Video Report  

[Posted: January 1, 2024]

1/8/2024