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CREEK CONNECTIONS LINK
Volume #8  Issue #3               March 12, 2003
Articles for March
Urbanization & Sprawl Affect Creek Health
Culvert Improves Flow on Greenwald Creek
Cochranton Students Explore the World of Wastewater Treatment

GIS & Watershed Experts Meet With Frick Creek Connoisseurs
Parker Middle School Conducts Annual Watershed Snapshot
Time Has Passed at Cambridge Springs

A Furry Surprise

Urbanization & Sprawl Affect Creek Health
by Jessica Perryman, Allegheny student

Meadville High School students monitor Mill Run, Meadville's urban stream. Mill Run passes through and under sections of the city, and is exposed to urban runoff and pollution.

Although Mill Run has been significantly impacted by the urbanization of the Meadville area, other urban streams, such as the one pictured above, are even more altered. The natural stream bed of this waterway has been replaced by concrete and straightened, or "channelized."

Image source: http://www.ontariostreams.on.ca/srm/ introduction/need.html
 

From Northwest Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh, department stores, strip malls, new roads and buildings, and new housing developments are going up everywhere. Maybe you think a new mall is all your town needs to be a really cool place to live. But urbanization and suburban sprawl impact more than just the distance you have to drive to get to your favorite store. And our beloved waterways often bear the brunt of the negative side effects of urbanization and suburban sprawl. The waterways at which participating Creek Connections schools do their sampling are no exceptions. From buried streams to sewage treatment plants, the effects of urbanization and suburban sprawl are impacting Creek Connections water quality sampling sites in numerous and varied ways.

Urbanization occurs when once rural areas become developed and built up. Some economists and city enthusiasts see most urbanization as healthy development. On the other hand, many farmers, environmentalists, and naturalists feel that urbanization can often be detrimental to the ecosystems of natural areas. The causes behind urbanization are population growth and suburban sprawl. Suburban sprawl, the expansion of cities and suburbs to surrounding rural areas, results from trying to find new places for an increasing population to live. Rather than living in cities, many people move out of the city and into the suburbs, expanding suburban boundaries farther and farther into once rural areas.

Urbanization can have negative effects on water quality, including erosion and sedimentation increase, excessive runoff addition, pollution, destruction of beneficial riparian forest buffers, and waterborne pathogen release.

Urbanization adds to erosion and sedimentation through the clearing and grading of land for development. You may have noticed that urban waterways generally have very few trees and little vegetation along their banks. Without vegetation, soil becomes loose and can easily be eroded (carried away) by wind and rain. This soil then can enter a waterway and damage that waterway. When soil is added to a waterway, turbidity is increased and nutrients are increased creating unhealthy conditions for macroinvertebrates and fish. Sedimentation (settling out of sediment and debris) at the bottom of the creek smothers aquatic habitats, suffocating macroinvertebrates and bottom feeding organisms. Construction development of land can also exacerbate sedimentation by creating flat, impermeable concrete surfaces that easily become covered with precipitation. Unable to soak into the ground, this precipitation then washes any materials that are on the surface of the concrete into nearby waterways. The materials that are carried into streams can be anything from dirt to garbage.


The installation of storm sewers is another development of urbanization that deals with runoff and can have negative effects on water quality. To prevent flooding, storm sewers are positioned beside highways and parking lots to collect water during rainstorms. When the rainwater flows into storm sewers, it collects a variety of materials that are in its path. These materials often include road salt, oil and other chemicals that leak from cars, paper and metal trash litter, and rubber from tires. Materials that the water collects on its way to a storm sewer are then carried into a nearby waterway, thus polluting the waterway. Trash from urban runoff can change the temperature of waterways as well as alter levels of alkalinity, turbidity, nutrients, pH, and total dissolved solids, often making the water inhospitable to aquatic life.


To reduce the negative effects of urbanization, regulations have been created to promote the development of land with reduced impacts on the environment. Methods have also been set up to prevent foreign materials from reaching waterways. To meet our societal needs, development is going to occur. The challenge is to make decisions about our land use to have as little negative impact on the land and our waterways as possible by implementing best management practices and technology.

 

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Culvert Improves Flow on Greenwald Creek
by Kristy Fetherlin and Kyla Ryan, Bethel Park High School Students;
Introduction by Nicole Mason, Creek Connections

A culvert like this one will redirect Greenwald Creek to prevent flood damage.

Image Source: http://dnr.state.il.us/owr/content/ OWR_Bensenvilleditch.htm

Urbanization affects our waterways in many ways. Not only can urbanization affect the chemical and biological health of a stream, but it can also change a stream's physical characteristics. It is not uncommon to find urban streams whose natural meandering streambeds have been replaced by concrete channels or once meandering streams that have been straightened (channelized). Still other streams are redirected. Their natural course is rerouted. The structures used to redirect stream channels are referred to as culverts.

Physical alterations of streams are often the result of community development as we build up the land around our waterways. The alterations sometimes become necessary to protect development that has occurred in floodplains (next to waterways) or to address increased runoff into small creeks that occurs from developed land with lots of impermeable pavement.

As you might suspect, the stream's health does not go unaffected by such physical changes. Natural stream flow can be severely disrupted, as can the natural boundaries of watersheds; stream substrate can be homogenized reducing the biodiversity the stream can support; concrete channels are impermeable and can increase flood potential; and reduced or excessive shade changes the types of life that can survive in such habitats.

More and more people are discovering that these detrimental changes are occurring right in their own backyards. Students at Springdale High School are preparing to sample at Deer Creek, located below the site of a new mall. A positive outcome of the development is that mall owners are donating a piece of wetland connected to Deer Creek to be used as an outdoor lab. Springdale students are sampling a Deer Creek site before and after development occurs to see if the new mall alters water quality in the creek.

Not far away in Bethel Park, students from Bethel Park High School south of Pittsburgh are witnessing the alteration of their Greenwald Creek on the edge of their school campus for flood control purposes. The students investigated what is being done, why it is being done, and the decision-making that was involved in the decision.

The following article, written by two Bethel Park students, describes the changes to their Greenwald Creek. Kristy and Kyla wrote:
After meeting with Martin Marek, Bethel Park Municipal Engineer, it is now clear that the culvert on the stream was necessary. This project is known to the residents of Bethel Park as the Greenwald Flood Protection Project. The culvert is designed to redirect the flow of water from the creek, under Greenwald Road to prevent flooding of the residents' homes near the creek. The watershed surrounding this creek is about 600 acres so a very large volume of water can drain into it.

The project was initiated by the many complaints of the citizens whose basements were being flooded because the creek would overflow its banks during storms. The culvert would be designed to allow the current to pass under the road during storms. It would hold the current even for one hundred year storms, which are extremely powerful storms that come about once every one hundred years. The last one hundred year storm occurred on July 10, 1974. Some of the homes were flooded so much that their cars in the garages were floating on top of the water that had leaked into their basements.

Many people complained to the local government that something had to be done. As in many environmental dilemmas, they had to weigh impacting the creek's environmental health and water quality with the safety of the 50+ residents' homes. Residents questioned how the culvert would impact the creek. Before the culvert could be built, the Department of Environmental Protection had to investigate and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) had to be drafted. Bethel Park applied for a permit to build the culvert, it was granted and construction began in March 2002. It is expected to be finished in early March of 2003. The roads and yards that were torn up during construction need to be redone and are expected to be finished by the end of the summer.

 

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Cochranton Students Explore the World of Wastewater Treatment
by Nicole Mason, Creek Connections

So, you've never thought twice about sewage after flushing your toilet? Well, now approximately 40 Biochemistry II students at Cochranton High School are experts on the processes that take place after the toilet flushes. From sewage influent to treated effluent and everything in between, these students in Mr. Grzegorzewki's 6th and 8th period classes have seen it all.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant Module began in early December when Mr. G introduced students to the topic. The objectives of the module were to make students more informed about wastewater treatment, the processes involved, and the environmental implications. This is particularly pertinent in the lives of Cochranton students because the borough is faced with putting in sewers to replace the wells and septic systems that are currently being used. Cochranton has problems with sewage building up in people's yards and getting into Little Sugar Creek, a tributary of French Creek. Mr. G's classes have done water quality analysis of the water in Little Sugar Creek and have noticed sludge in the waterway. They have also observed a significant difference in color between water from Little Sugar Creek as it enters French Creek, and the water in French Creek upstream of Little Sugar Creek.

After learning about the local environmental issues related to wastewater treatment, Cochranton Bio-Chem. II students visited the Meadville Sewage Treatment Plant, run by the Meadville Area Sewer Authority, on December 5th, 2002. As soon as they entered the building, the students began commenting on the rather "earthy" aroma of the plant. After an introduction by Eric Schall, a representative of the Meadville Sewage Treatment Plant, students began their tour of the facility. They listened intently over the roar of motors and fans to the fascinating journey of raw sewage through the plant. They learned that untreated sewage coming into the plant is called "influent" and the treated sewage leaving the plant is referred to as "effluent."

Many students were captivated by the complex process of wastewater treatment. Ryan Malliaird thought it was particularly interesting "to see how much they have to do to get it so they can use the water in the environment again. It's a long, continuous process." Erin Fields agreed, saying, "It was kind of cool to see how everything works. It [the wastewater] comes in from a lot of places in the general region." Tom Swisher said he "thought it was interesting how everything worked, especially all the pumps and bar screens. Pumps pump raw sewage and the bar screens pick up the large stuff out of the raw sewage." Alfie Deeter and Chad Beach's favorite part of the wastewater treatment plant was "how the ultraviolet light killed bacteria." The big hit of the visit to the plant was walking on the roof and peering down into the gurgling tanks of brown, frothy raw sewage.

The Cochranton students' experience with sewage treatment didn't stop after the visit. They used this experience as a springboard to construct mini-sewage treatment plants and produce sludge (the solid material removed from wastewater) using processes similar to those utilized at the Meadville Sewage Treatment Plant. The sewage treatment process is similar to the natural process by which wastewater is cleaned in the environment. Typically, wastewater treatment has two stages: primary treatment and secondary treatment. Primary treatment involves the physical processes of filtration, settling, and skimming. Primary treatment can remove about 50% of contaminants from wastewater. Secondary treatment, which involves biological and chemical processes, can remove as much as 95% of the remaining contaminants from the water that was pumped off after primary treatment. Any remaining contaminants and disease-causing microbes are killed with chlorine or ultraviolet light. A third stage of treatment is sometimes used and mainly involves flocculation, which means adding a coagulant to water which makes the remaining tiny solids clump together. These clumps then settle out. The fully treated wastewater, or effluent, is then released back into the environment.

With these stages of wastewater treatment in mind, the Cochranton Bio-Chem. II students put their craft skills to work to construct mini-wastewater treatment facilities out of Plexiglas and several aeration and pumping devices. They constructed primary treatment models and investigated the settling rates of the solids. Each and every student played a pivotal role in the construction of the two activated sludge tanks. Within four class periods, the models were up and running.

The Cochranton classes chose denitrifying bacteria as their microorganism that would consume the contaminants in the wastewater. Once the tanks were up and running and the denitrifying bacteria went to work, students monitored pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, total settleable solids, total suspended solids volume, and turbidity of the wastewater, and did some research into testing for coliform bacteria for two weeks. They used both Hach kits and digital meters to measure the levels of these parameters. Hoon Cho, a foreign exchange student from South Korea, commented that he liked using the digital meters because he had learned about them in South Korea but had never had the opportunity to use them himself.

In addition to chemically analyzing the wastewater, Mr. G.'s students also monitored the sludge produced by their treatment facilities as well as sludge from the Meadville facility. By examining the sludge under microscopes, students were able to monitor the presence and relative abundance of "indicator organisms." Indicator organisms are certain microorganisms such as rotifers, stalked ciliates, free-swimming ciliates, flagellates, and amoeboids that indicate the level of settling. The relative abundance of these organisms reveals if the sludge has sufficiently settled or not. The Cochranton students greatly refined their microscopy and when the time came to look at the sludge, they had become enthusiastic microscope experts. Sean Culver seemed to really enjoy the microscopy and he thought the whole project was a great idea: "I think it's awesome because we get to do all kinds of stuff with microscopes and we get to get outside, go in the creek, and look at slides." Chuck Schultz also enjoyed the microscopy work in the classroom, especially after the visit to the sewage treatment plant. "Looking at the slide at the treatment plant was the coolest part. I saw stuff that was moving in the sludge!" Ryan Hollabaugh was excited when he "identified a flagellate."

After several months of work on the Wastewater Treatment Module, students used their experiences to compile training manuals for how to operate activated sludge tanks.

Overall, the unit on wastewater treatment was a hit among Cochranton's Biochemistry II students. Adam Artman summed it up when he said, "It [the project] was different. Good different. It's been more interesting than some of the other things we could have done." As a result of the unit, Cochranton sophomores and juniors are more informed about the processes involved in wastewater treatment. They also have a better understanding of the importance of sewage treatment and the environmental issues related to it. They realize that flushing the toilet is only just the beginning of the sewage treatment story!

Cochranton students on their guided tour of the Meadville Sewage Treatment Plant.

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GIS & Watershed Experts Meet with Frick Creek Connoisseurs
by Saray Jo Baron Antonucci, Frick International Studies Academy student

 

The watershed model Frick students made with the assistance of presenters from the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association and Carnegie Mellon University GIs experts.

On Friday, January 17, 2003 the eighth grade students from Frick International Studies Academy who participate in Creek Connections enjoyed a presentation from experts on our water system. Our Creek Connections group travels to Nine Mile Run to test the water. Nine Mile Run begins above ground in Frick Park and continues through the park to the Monongahela River. The presenters were Reiko Goto, Marijke Hecht, and Beth McCartney.

We sat with our testing groups and began by telling our guests what nutrient we test for in the creek: whether it is nitrates or phosphorus. We learned about the watershed and about geographic information systems. We also discovered ways to protect Nine Mile Run watershed from erosion. Beth McCartney is a Geographic Information Systems Specialist who spoke about the topography of Nine Mile Run and showed us elevation maps. Reiko, who is a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, brought clay and each group modeled an example of a watershed. Marijke Hecht is a watershed coordinator who is part of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, which is an organization dedicated to beautifying watersheds.

Everyone learned many new and interesting facts about the watershed where we live and we owe much gratitude to Reiko, Beth, and Marijke for taking time out of their busy schedules to talk to us.

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Parker Middle School Conducts Annual Watershed Snapshot
by Chris Resek, Creek Connections

There was an odd occurrence in the Edinboro community on Saturday morning, March 1. All at the same time throughout the Conneautee Creek Watershed, school vans and parent vehicles pulled off on roadsides, next to bridges, with Parker Middle School students climbing out of them grasping dissolved oxygen bottles and pH meters. It was the annual watershed snapshot for approximately 25 of Mr. Wise's 8th grade students, concluding a school year of sampling.

The students have enjoyed doing water monitoring this school year and for this Saturday event. Student Danielle McDunn indicated that the water testing is a "good experience because it gets you walking around and learning things." Andrea Mullen thought the water monitoring was "awesome," and said, "we should sample creeks more often. It is fun. It gives us a chance to work together as a team." Teamwork was definitely helpful for all the data collection they would do on their watershed snapshot.

A watershed snapshot is a useful way to determine the health of an entire watershed for a particular moment in time. Taking samples simultaneously in an area keeps the experimental conditions of time and weather constant, allowing for better water quality comparisons between sites. For this sampling event, Parker Middle School students visited nine different stream sites, some of which are influenced by rural surroundings and others by the Edinboro community and development occurring there. By testing each site for the eight typical Creek Connections water quality parameters, Jessica Tinko claimed "we know what is in the water a little bit more now." The students would spend time interpreting all of their results and comparing stream health between their sites.

Dan Hudy was often surprised during the school year with the results of their monthly water testing. "The water is a lot cleaner than I thought it would be. I thought the phosphates would be higher but it was always cleaner. I did not expect it. The creeks always looked more polluted, but mainly they are healthy." For the watershed snapshot, the Parker students tested streams they normally do not visit, including Whipple Run, downstream of the sewage treatment facility. Maybe they would find streams that were more polluted than others.

The results, seen below in the data table, varied from stream to stream and some numbers were a little puzzling and higher than others. For the second year in a row, Whipple run had the highest TDS reading, but the nutrient levels were low and the alkalinity/pH levels were normal. The Parker students would have to figure out what else might be dissolved in the water, elevating the reading. Other creeks had high phosphate results: 0.173 mg/L for Conneautee Creek at Crane Rd., 0.085 mg/L for Shenango Creek North, and 0.073 mg/L for Shenango Creek South. Although these results were lower than the Environmental Protection Agency standard of 1 mg/L, as little as 0.03 mg/L can result in excessive algal/plant growth. So if these results persist, they could cause problems in the creeks later in the warmer spring season.

At the end of the morning, the data table on the dry erase board was filled in and the students walked away having experienced a unique scientific study. Mr. Wise walked away feeling a little sentimental because this sampling event concluded his last year doing Creek Connections water quality monitoring and was his last watershed snapshot with Parker students. Retiring at the end of the school year, Mr. Wise remarked, "Everything I have done this year has been bittersweet. I look forward to the future but realize it is the last time that I get to do these things." Although the glassware and the meters have been put away for the last time, Mr. Wise and his students have one more Creek Connections adventure remaining as they prepare their research project results and their watershed snapshot data analysis for the Student Research Symposium on April 4.

Parker Middle School students conduct
dissolved oxygen titrations and record
data from their Watershed Snapshot.

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Time has Passed at Cambridge Springs
by Emily Suzanne Kent, Shelly Elizabeth Green and Anisa Juliana Pettersen,
at Cambridge Springs High School students

Time has passed…what have those Cambridge Springs Advanced Student Biologists been doing? For starters, the Downtown Bridge of Cambridge Springs, Venango Bridge and Miller Station Bridge are still very much the hot issue for our class. We are continuing to test French Creek three days a week using eight parameters: dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, nitrates, alkalinity, phosphates, total dissolved solids and temperature.

Other than the usual creek activities, the class has begun a new series of projects. An interesting one included this assignment: invent a filter that will serve in cleaning dirty water. Our individual groups were only supplied with a two-Liter soda bottle cut in half. We had to decide what articles of nature would best combine in filtering and cleansing, for example, gravel, sand, sea shells, cotton, etc. Our provided "dirty water" had in it an assortment of materials such as oil, vinegar, salt, coffee grounds, potting soil, sawdust and food coloring. As a result, Mr. Porter received as many different filters as he had groups. Before the filtering process and afterwards, each group had to record TDS, pH and turbidity alterations.

Perhaps the most stimulating project by far is our up-and-coming self-created science lessons that will be taught to a variety of ages, especially the seventh and fifth grades. The topics were limited to anything science. We are wondering now… how will the kiddies take it? The lesson plans include the importance of recycling and how it affects you, by Cindy Dine, Jackie Hayden and Marcie Soltesz. Jadot Moosman and Nate Miller will teach the topic of buoyancy. Garret Blasco will teach the kids about sensitive plants. Randy Styborski and Russell Bufalino will teach about Steelhead fish and Rainbow trout. Debbie Peterson and Alison Walker will teach the basic concepts of Astronomy. We, Emily Suzanne Kent, Shelly Elizabeth Green and Anisa Juliana Pettersen, will illustrate the notion of why the sky appears blue. Is it blue???

We have a brand new round of mini projects for our renewed grading period. Nate and Jadot will create an instructional video: "How to Perform the Alkalinity and Nitrate tests." Debbe and Alison will experiment on fish adaptation. Garret will focus on other in-depth aspects of sensitive plants. Randy and Russel will clean and scoop the fish tanks within the Biology classroom.

Of course we all are looking forward to our Symposium Projects. Be sure to check out the wealth of projects accomplished by our CSHS biologists. Our class will be collaborating on separate group projects. They are as follows: "Adopt a Highway"--- highway cleanliness, "Leaf Packet Instruction," "School Courtyard Pond Maintenance" and "Stars over French Creek." Ours will simply be "Bacteria Breeding: What Goes On In the Pond." Let the good times roll!!!!!!!

French Creek in Cambridge Springs

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A Furry Surprise
by Letsche High School Students
Sighting this rare muskrat while sampling at their Pine Creek site was indeed a "furry surprise" for Letsche students!
While conducting a routine water sampling, the Letsche students were treated to a rare sight around the Pittsburgh area. A muskrat was seen swimming across the stream. This sighting led to further research on this mammal.

The muskrat resembles a small beaver with a long, rat-like tail. They average about two to three pounds in weight. Muskrats are only found where un-polluted waters exist. Whether these rodents stay and form a colony depends on available food supply, water purity, and annual water levels. The animals' diet consists mainly of plants, but they also eat clams and any dead fauna found near their home. Females rarely breed their first year of life. The following year they can produce three litters consisting of six to eight young.

Although the teacher was able to properly identify the surprise visitor, the students were not impressed. "After all, a rat's a rat."
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