SUSQUEHANNA
RIVER BASIN COMMISSION Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2009
CONTACT: Susan Obleski, Director of Communications
Office: (717) 238-0423, x316 Cell: (717) 215-7278
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The
Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) today announced it will begin in
early 2010 installing a monitoring network that will continuously measure and
report water quality conditions of smaller rivers and streams located in
northern tier Pennsylvania and southern tier New York. SRBC will receive the data collected by the
network and will make it available to other resource agencies and the public
through its web site. The data will help
agency officials track existing water quality conditions and any changes in
them on an ongoing, real-time basis.
“With the current concerns
about the natural gas drilling activities occurring in the Susquehanna basin,
SRBC believes that a data collection effort is critically important as the
basis for making future decisions,” said Paul Swartz, SRBC Executive
Director.
This week, East Resources,
Inc., a natural gas company based in Warrendale,
Pennsylvania, announced it will be contributing $750,000 to SRBC for the water
quality monitoring network.
Swartz said, “The Commission
truly appreciates this substantial contribution from East Resources. It will allow us to cover the cost of
installing the initial monitoring stations in the targeted areas. With this contribution, the Commission has
now secured a commitment of the financial resources needed to proceed with the
project sooner than planned. If winter
weather cooperates, we could begin installing equipment as soon as January
2010.”
SRBC will initially set up 30
water quality monitoring stations in the regions where drilling in the Marcellus
shale is most active, as well as other locations where no drilling activities
are planned so SRBC can collect control-data.
The monitoring network will provide constant data collection with
instruments sensitive enough to detect subtle changes in water quality on a
frequency that will allow background conditions and any changes to them to be
documented throughout the year. This
level of data collection would not be feasible without the use of advanced
technology.
Each of the monitoring
stations will be equipped with water quality sensors and a transmitter to
continuously monitor and report water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen,
conductance (ability to conduct electricity) and turbidity (water
clarity). The water depth also will be
recorded to establish a relationship with stream flows. The monitoring of conductance is key to
detecting impacts associated with natural gas activities if they occur; this
constituent in water produced by the natural gas industry is generally 200
times greater than normally measured in streams in the Susquehanna River Basin,
allowing it to be a leading indicator.
The monitoring network will
provide early warnings to help environmental protection officials respond more
rapidly and better pinpoint causes if water quality conditions change. It will also help local public water
suppliers, local watershed groups and communities stay informed.
Swartz said, “The
Commission’s overarching objective of this monitoring network is to apply good
science in order to track changes in water quality conditions over time and to
allow for timely responses in the case of pollution events. The Commission will rely on the know-how and
expertise it has gained through an existing early warning system program and
nearly 24 years of continuous monitoring to ensure the successful set up and
operation of this expanded remote monitoring effort.”
Other objectives are to
reduce the cost of data collection by using advanced technologies, form
partnerships, enhance water supply protection through source water monitoring
and be responsive to public concerns.
SRBC has already reached out
to local government officials, colleges and universities along with watershed
organizations to gauge their interest in assisting SRBC staff on the project.
For more information on
SRBC’s proposed water quality monitoring network, go to SRBC’s web site at www.srbc.net/programs/remotenetwork.htm. This web page contains a project information
sheet, power point presentations and other information.
SRBC (www.srbc.net) is the governing agency
established under a 100-year compact signed on December 24, 1970 by the federal
government and the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland to protect and
wisely manage the water resources of the Susquehanna River Basin. The Susquehanna River starts in Cooperstown,
New York, and flows 444 miles to Havre de Grace, Maryland, where the river
meets the Chesapeake Bay.
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