Susquehanna River Basin Commission Ready to Start Real-Time Water
Quality Monitoring Network
Natural Gas Company East Resources to Contribute $750,000 to
Monitoring Network
SRBC Press Release
10 December 2009
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 http://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.