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Many of our neighborhoods in Pennsylvania have beautiful streams and lakes, which are being degraded due to excessive stormwater runoff.
How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius. The above illustration shows what would happen if all of the water on or near the surface of the Earth were bunched up into a ball. The radius of this ball would be only about 700 kilometers, less than half the radius of the Earth's Moon, but slightly larger than Saturn's moon Rhea which, like many moons in our outer Solar System, is mostly water ice. How even this much water came to be on the Earth and whether any significant amount is trapped far beneath Earth's surface remain topics of research.
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Among its major responsibilities, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC, www.srbc.net) is a leader in data collection and analysis for water quality monitoring, mine drainage and water resource availability. SRBC makes its findings readily available to the public both on-line and through printed publications. SRBC’s more recent technical reports available online or by requesting printed copies.
A recent article brought to mind how easy it is to be confused about water quality issues as well as potentially lose a lot of money doing things we don’t need to be doing.
This week’s guest blog was written by Tom Smith, West Nile Virus Program Administrator, in the Penn State York County Extension Office. With the early detection of West Nile Virus in a horse already, this may be an active year for mosquitoes. The Pest Ed blog will feature a monthly blog article about a West Nile Virus topic through the Fall.
The Chesapeake Bay Program has launched a new, improved version of its website. The new Bay Program website provides students, educators and members of the public with the latest information about Bay science, wildlife, pollution pressures and restoration efforts. The new website comes complete with countless new resources, including an improved photo library with hundreds of high-resolution images of the Bay and its watershed, wildlife and pollution problems. Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay staff have been instrumental in building the content featured by the site.
Imagine leaving a hose running into a tank and returning later to find the tank empty instead of full. At best this would be a mystery at worst a serious problem.
As a public works professional, YOU are vital to the overall well-being of your community. Count yourself among the influential public works and sustainable infrastructure leaders who will join together to share solutions and strategize for the future. This is your chance to gather together and participate in a deep dialogue about public works’ role in creating sustainable communities. June 25-24, Pittsburgh, PA
A multi-state environmental education summit spotlighting innovative teaching about water - Attention all informal and formal educators who teach youth about water (environmental educators, nature center directors, scout leader trainers, camp directors, curriculum coordinators, after school program educators, Envirothon coordinators, classroom teachers, extension educators, and more!!) You are invited to SAVE THE DATE, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, for an affordable day (approximately 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - lunch included) full of great speakers, hands-on workshops, and idea sharing that will enhance your water education programming. Registration for the Dive Deeper Summit is coming soon!! Visit the website to register to receive information. Act 48 Credits will be available. For more information, contact Jennifer Fetter at (717) 921-8803 or 4HWater@psu.edu
If you have a pond on your property, you may have already started to see the growth of what looks like green string-like slime on the bottom of your pond. What you probably have is the beginning stages of filamentous algae.
The growing season began early this year in Pennsylvania, so that means that many of us have already been hard at work preparing yards and gardens for the impending warmer weather.
Water testing by the natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale region is affirming the need for all rural Pennsylvanians to regularly test their private water supply.
There are many excellent reasons to dispose of unwanted medications properly. To encourage proper disposal, the DEA will again be sponsoring Drug Take-Back programs at many sites across Pennsylvania.
Penn State introduces a new online field guide to assist landowners, land managers, and gas companies understand terrestrial challenges facing shale gas development.
This spring, get a little closer to the water in your life by making a visit to a stream near you.
Watershed Central provides state, local, and voluntary watershed management entities with the key tools, resources, guidance, and datasets to aide in a successful watershed management. Designed to assist users to develop and implement effective watershed management programs, Watershed Central includes guidance, tools, case studies, and data sets to help you share information, analyze data, and identify opportunities to initiate or strengthen your watershed efforts. Watershed Central includes a wiki feature which allows the user to submit and edit content so that information is constantly updated by the watershed community. The wiki includes case studies, information on watershed organizations and various watershed management tools.
EPA recently released a new technical document titled “Identifying and Protecting Healthy Watersheds: Concepts, Assessments, and Management Approaches.” This document provides state water quality and aquatic resource scientists and managers with an overview of the key concepts behind the Healthy Watersheds Initiative. The initiative is intended to preserve and maintain natural ecosystems by protecting our remaining healthy watersheds, preventing them from becoming impaired and accelerating our restoration successes. Examples of approaches for assessing components of healthy watersheds are provided as well as integrated assessment options for identifying healthy watersheds, examples of management approaches and assessment tools and sources of data. States are encouraged to take a strategic, systems approach to protecting healthy watersheds and preventing future water quality impairments.
Results of a study designed to educate and to encourage private water well owners to regularly test their private water supplies highlight the value of water testing.
The Water We Drink: Small Community Outreach Campaign, which offers information about maintaining safe, sustainable, and secure water supplies in small and rural communities, has several articles written especially for those who oversee local water and wastewater services.
The LSRWA's mission is to address sediment accumulation behind the Conowingo Dam, and the associated potential for storms to affect water quality and aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay. This currently is a basic site to contain LSRWA meeting agendas, news, and press releases, and will evolve to have content deemed helpful to the group. However, documents and monitoring site maps would also be of general interest.
