About The Project
The Lower Chartiers Watershed Association has developed a citizen science water monitoring kit and we invite local citizens of all ages to join our LCWA Stream Squad, and collaborate with us to learn about water quality through the completion of a simple water monitoring experiment.
In particular, our citizen science project aims to gain insight into the water quality of the Chartiers Creek Watershed. The Chartiers Creek Watershed was historically polluted by heavy industry. It is currently an impaired watershed since its water quality is still impacted by a variety of issues. We are currently studying abandoned mine drainage, which is a main source of impairment and is a common occurrence across the watershed. Abandoned mine drainage comes to the surface from underground coal mines and eventually enters our streams and rivers. Water from abandoned mine drainage may be acidic and is typically rich in heavy metals.
In particular, our citizen science project aims to gain insight into the water quality of the Chartiers Creek Watershed. The Chartiers Creek Watershed was historically polluted by heavy industry. It is currently an impaired watershed since its water quality is still impacted by a variety of issues. We are currently studying abandoned mine drainage, which is a main source of impairment and is a common occurrence across the watershed. Abandoned mine drainage comes to the surface from underground coal mines and eventually enters our streams and rivers. Water from abandoned mine drainage may be acidic and is typically rich in heavy metals.
Who Does This Project Benefit
Our water monitoring and outreach project provides benefits to the over 100,000 resident citizens living along and within the Lower Chartiers Watershed, mainly in Allegheny County. Our project has been funded through a generous grant from PA American Water. We plan to focus our efforts on the municipalities, boroughs and townships within the PA American Water service area in the watershed. These specific communities are: Bethel Park, Bridgeville, Carnegie, Crafton, Green Tree, Heidelberg, Ingram, McDonald, Rosslyn Farms, Thornburg, Collier, Mt. Lebanon, North Fayette, Scott, South Fayette, and Upper St Clair. In addition, residents of Fairywood, Sheraden, Windgap, Esplen are in the service area.
What You Are Measuring
We seek to get a better understanding of the overall condition of the Chartiers Creek Watershed with your help. We hope to receive water monitoring information from your test kit results. By crowd-sourcing water monitoring tests and allowing citizens to sample as many locations as possible over several months, a more complete assessment of water quality can be made. Water quality is determined in this project using two parameters: pH and iron concentration. These two measures, taken together allow us to gain a better understanding of the quality and health of the stream for aquatic life.
pH Measurement
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The first kit measurement is pH, which is a measure of how acidic or basic a fluid is. An example of an acidic fluid is vinegar, while an example of a basic (alkaline) fluid is bleach. Stream water can best support the largest amount of aquatic life when the pH is neutral. Neutral pH values generally range between 6.5 – 7.5. With a pH reading we can determine whether a stream is capable of supporting a significant amount of aquatic life.
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Iron Test
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The second kit measurement is the iron concentration in parts per million. To better understand the impact of abandoned mine drainage we also need to understand what the concentration of iron in the water is. When underground coal mines fill with water, several chemical reactions take place to release large amounts of iron into solution. When iron is released into our streams and exposed to the environment, it has the potential to turn a stream orange/red. High concentrations of iron create a hostile aquatic environment for the invertebrates and fish in streams. Even where the concentration of metals is not high enough to change the appearance of water, metals may still be present and can severely affect the ability of aquatic creatures to live.
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