Source Water

Dec 12, 2013

The Potomac Watershed – From All Sides

Drinking Water Use, Emerging Contaminants, grants, Green Solutions, In Your Backyard, Land, Partnership, Potomac River, restoration, Source Water, water quality, Watersheds 0 Comments

By Ellen Schmitt and Susan Spielberger

More often than not, watersheds cross political boundaries. Take the Potomac River for example. It drains an area of 14,670 square miles in four states: Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. As part of the larger Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the Potomac River delivers a significant amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment to the Chesapeake Bay.

Morning fog over the Potomac River. Photo courtesy of Flickr photographer jm6553 from EPA’s State of the Environment Photo Project

Besides its contribution to downstream nutrient pollution, the Potomac basin itself faces a number of threats to its source water quality. One of these threats is a rapid growth in urban population which accounts for 81% of the basin’s 6.11 million residents, and is expected to grow by more than 1 million people over the next 20 years.

The environmental challenges presented by the Potomac River, as well as other mid-Atlantic waters often require the attention of different EPA programs. Here’s what two of us do to protect “the Nation’s River” here in EPA, Region 3.

Ellen:

I work in the Drinking Water Branch and we’re working with the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership to protect the river and its tributaries as sources of drinking water. Protecting the source water in the first place is the best preventative step to providing safe drinking water. Hand and glove with this are the other usual steps including treatment at water plants, a safe drinking water distribution system, and increasing the awareness of consumers of protecting drinking water sources. This approach makes sense because some substances can’t be removed at water treatment facilities and it’s often much less expensive to treat the water if contaminants are kept out in the first place. Examples of source water protection activities are: keeping manure from farms out of streams to reduce the potential for pathogens entering the water; having a response plan in the event of a spill of hazardous materials; and working with transportation agencies to reduce the amount of salt spread on the region’s roads during the winter.

The Potomac Partnership is a unique collaboration, comprised of nearly 20 drinking water utilities and government agencies from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and DC focusing on source water protection activities addressing agriculture, urban run-off and emerging contaminants.

Susan:

I work in the Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division. In 2010, Congress provided EPA with two million dollars in funding to restore and protect the Potomac Highlands (a part of Appalachia), and EPA selected American Rivers to administer this grant program. My role in this program is serve as the technical contact for the projects that have been funded – eight of them – ranging from $150,000 to $300,000, that focus on improving natural resources and socio-economic conditions.

Projects include stream bank restoration in Staunton and Waynesboro, Virginia; land conservation projects in West Virginia and Pennsylvania where parcels with high ecological value are being protected through conservation easements; reclaiming mine land in the Monongahela National Forest by planting native spruce trees; and constructing a green house/ shade house project in Frostburg, Maryland, on reclaimed mine land.

In selecting projects that will protect and restore the Potomac (as well as other mid-Atlantic waters), we emphasize a strategic approach to conservation – also known as the Green Infrastructure approach. We emphasize the connectivity of forest “hubs” of high ecological value and their ability to either expand those hubs or connect the hubs together. This is a more effective way to protect and restore natural systems because it strives to keep important areas intact and to restore ones that are degraded.

For more information about the Potomac watershed, check out this State of the Nation’s River Report from the Potomac Conservancy (PDF). What kinds of activities are happening in the watershed where you live? How else could it be approached, from all sides?

About the Authors: Susan Spielberger and Ellen Schmitt both work out of EPA’s Mid-Atlantic office in Philadelphia, PA. Susan works in the Environment and Innovation Division in the Office of Environmental Information and Assessment, and Ellen works in the Water Protection Division’s Drinking Water Branch.

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Sep 19, 2013

Celebrating Mushrooms, Farmers, and Watersheds in Kennett Square

agriculture, Celebrate, Christina River, Delaware River, fertilizers, Festivals, gardening, Kennett Square, Land, Local Community, Mushrooms, Nutrients, Partnership, Pennsylvania, Responsible Land Use, Source Water, Stormwater, Watersheds, What you can do 0 Comments

By Christina Catanese

“What’s that smell?” I asked, as we got out of the car in front of my friend’s house in Kennett Square, PA.

“Oh, the mushroom compost?” Jaclyn said. “I don’t even smell that anymore.”

It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but an earthy aroma that permeated the air the same way the culture of mushroom farming pervades this small Pennsylvania town.

Mushrooms are a way of life in Kennett Square. Often called the Mushroom Capital of the World, mushroom farms in this area of Southeastern Pennsylvania produce the vast majority of mushrooms produced in the United States, outdone only by China in mushroom farming worldwide. I heard some figures that mushroom farms in Chester County produce over a million pounds of mushrooms a week!

Enjoying a beautiful day in the Kennett Square community

Every year, this proud tradition of mushroom farming is celebrated at the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival. I attended this year’s festival a few weeks ago, where I expected to and did eat many types and forms of mushrooms (including but not limited to the classic deep fried mushroom balls, the higher brow mushroom gorgonzola hummus, and even cream of mushroom ice cream).

What I didn’t expect was to learn so much about mushroom farming itself, and its role in the health of the watershed of the Delaware River, Red and White Clay Creek, and other local streams. Part of the festival was an exhibition that walked through the process of growing mushrooms. It really gave me an appreciation of the amount of work these farmers have to do to grow their crops.

A mushroom farmer harvests white button mushrooms from his exhibition at the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival

It all starts with the substrate (the material the mushrooms are grown in), which generally consists of the waste products from other agriculture industries. This mix of manure, hay, straw, wood chips, cottonseed meal, cocoa shells, and gypsum has to be kept at just the right temperature, pH, and light conditions in indoor mushroom farms, so the right fungi thrive and the wrong ones that could spoil the crop do not. Once the mushrooms sprouted, I couldn’t believe how fast they grew, sometimes doubling in size in a single day!

After mushrooms are harvested, the substrate material can’t be used for mushroom farming anymore. As at any farm, this compost can be a source of runoff and enter streams if not managed properly. Source water protection efforts in the Delaware River Basin identified mushroom farms in the watershed as a partnership opportunity to help reduce nutrient pollution and potential sources of Cryptosporidium, a pathogen often found in manure that may cause disease. These efforts work with farmers and conservation districts to set up ways to manage this runoff and protect sources of drinking water.

Phase 2 Compost: what the spent mushroom substrate looks like after mushrooms have been harvested and before it comes to your lawn or garden

With its high capacity to hold water and nutrients, mushroom compost can be used as compost in many applications, like crop and garden fertilization, erosion control, and stormwater management. Fall is the best time to seed new lawns and fertilize, so if you’re embarking on this process, consider mushroom or other organic soil amendments for your plants. Like any fertilizer, mushroom compost must be applied appropriately to avoid nutrient pollution.

By the end of the day at the festival, I didn’t notice the smell of the mushroom compost much anymore, either. When I did catch a whiff, it reminded me that this compost (like the mushroom ice cream I ate) was just one stage of a much larger process of mushroom farming. It wasn’t the beginning or end, but part of a continuing cycle of growing, harvesting, consuming, and composting…all while boosting local economies and protecting local waters along the way.

About the Author: Christina Catanese has worked at EPA since 2010, in the Water Protection Division’s Office of Program Support. Originally from Pittsburgh, Christina has lived in Philadelphia since attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied Environmental Studies, Political Science, and Hydrogeology. When not in the office, Christina enjoys performing, choreographing and teaching modern dance.

Oct 4, 2012

Water Treatment Ahead of its Time

Delaware River, drinking water, Drinking Water Use, Historical pollution, In Your Backyard, Land, Partnership, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Source Water, Technology, Water Quality 1 Comment

By: Trey Cody

Fairmount Water Works, Photo courtesy of the National Parks Service

As in intern in EPA Region III’s Water Protection Division, there are always ample opportunities to learn about environmental protection. One of my most recent adventures was a trip to the Fairmount Water Works Interpretative Center in Philadelphia with other interns in my program.

The original Fairmount Water Works was considered at the time of its opening in 1815 to be a wonder of the world. After witnessing its magnificent architecture and design, I would argue that it still is today. During the trip we learned about how, with advanced technology for its time, the Water Works facility allowed Philadelphia to be the first municipality in the nation to take on the responsibility of distributing fresh drinking water to the public. This was done with the use of two steam engines which pumped water from the Schuylkill River to a 3-million-gallon reservoir to house it. In 1822, a 1,600-foot dam was built across the Schuylkill in order to direct water to three water wheels, which had replaced the steam engines. Another innovation for its time was the use of hydropower–the facility itself was powered by the river. And I learned that Fairmount Park was created to preserve open space to protect our water supply.

It is clear that the availability for clean drinking water has been a priority for centuries. I knew that Philadelphia gets its drinking water from both the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, but it was nice to learn about the history behind this. It gives me pride to know that the Mid-Atlantic Region was home to a facility ahead of its time that is still to this day a model for drinking water facilities across the U.S.

Do you know how your drinking water is treated and which source it comes from? Do you have a similar story to a visit to a drinking water facility? Leave us a comment and tell about it!

About the Author: Trey Cody has been an intern with EPA’s Water Protection Division since graduation from high school in 2010. He is currently attending the Pennsylvania State University.

Oct 28, 2010

Concentrated Effort, Universal Need

agriculture, Cryptosporidium, DWSPP, Emerging Contaminants, Land, Partnership, Potomac River, River Basin, Source Water 0 Comments

Nearly 6 million people live in the drainage area of the Potomac River which stretches 14,670 square miles across four states and the District of Columbia. 86% of these people get their drinking water from public water suppliers which use the Potomac River, its tributaries and surrounding ground water as their source water. And with an average flow before withdrawal of 7 billion gallons/day, it may be an understatement to say: it’s a big deal!

Luckily, this has not gone unnoticed. Organized in 2004, the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership (DWSPP) has been working to better understand and address the risks that may negatively affect the quality of drinking water in the Potomac River basin. The Partnership is a voluntary association of 20 water suppliers and government agencies whose mission is the protection of their source water supplies in the basin. Some of the biggest interests of the Partnership are:

• Tracking research on low levels of emerging contaminants to determine their persistence in the environment and their potential threats to human health and the environment

• Early warning/emergency response to events and conditions which may threaten the safety of the water supply

• Urban issues such as the impact of roadway salts on drinking water sources

• Agriculture issues such as the potential contribution of pathogens. One example of this is Cryptosporidium, which may cause water-borne disease

Broad source water programs like the Partnership’s are significant because they extend beyond the treatment element and provide an invaluable multi-barrier approach to drinking water protection. With concerns like those above (and more) in both urban and rural areas, this collaborative approach should open the eyes of residents in watersheds everywhere.

So what should you do? Educate yourself on the issues the Potomac DWSPP is working on by visiting their website and be sure to take a look at specific information about special topics or workgroup activities. You may also find information like how to properly dispose of pharmaceuticals, as well as other ways you too can ensure safe drinking water for your area.