Reference- US-L Watershed

Home Edge Join Projects News Reference Training Products About

US-L Watershed Project Location Map	The Susquehanna River provides over half of the freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay The US-L Watershed is 2000 square miles in area; and it has a population of 654,217 people There are 191 townships, cities, and boroughs in the US-L Watershed The Anthracite Coal Region covers an area of about 3600 square miles The US-L Watershed has major environmental impacts from abandoned mining lands, acid mine drainage, and combined sewer overfalls; regional clean up costs are estimated to be over $2 billion
CSO Locations in the Wyoming Valley near Pittston, Wilkes-Barre, and Nanticoke	CSOs represent one of the major water quality issues in the US-L River watershed. At present, regional data for the whole US-L watershed is limited to a simple count of the number of CSOs in a tributary watershed. CSOs result from the flow of wastewater mixed with urban stormwater which is diverted to streams and rivers during storm events that exceed the capacity of "older" common sewer lines, typical of cities in the northeastern U.S. In the aquatic environment, oxygen may drop to critically low levels during decomposition of organic material from mixed wastewater. Low oxygen levels, along with organic sediments on habitats, may impact bottom dwelling aquatic insects and fishes.
Acid Mine Drainage (AMD from hydrogen ion and iron loading) in the American Heritage River Watershed	Hydrogen ion (acidity) and iron loading are two watershed indicators intended to address aspects of AMD from various point discharges throughout the US-L River watershed. These data are from the U.S. Geological Survey report entitled "Water Quality of the 100 Largest Mine Discharges in the Anthracite Region of Eastern Pennsylvania." For the Phase I study, a GIS was used to locate the 35 of these discharge points (data are from 1991) that actually occur in the US-L River watershed area. The ecological, toxicological, and habitat (stream channels) impacts of AMD usually result from low pH, high iron and other dissolved metals, and high acidity. For watershed impact assessment, it is preferable to use loading rates that adjust pollutant levels, like hydrogen ion concentration (an indicator of acid conditions), relative to the volume of stream flow and for watershed area - the approach used for this analysis. Iron in high concentrations can be toxic to aquatic organisms. Also, when AMD is exposed to atmospheric oxygen in surface streams, precipitation of dissolved iron to a solid sediment material ("yellow boy") can clog rocky stream and river habitats and significantly impact aquatic populations. No other metals data are available at most of the sites even though metal toxicity is a major concern in the acidification of freshwater ecosystems.
Riparian zone and floodplain aerial photography for the American Heritage River near Wilkes Barre	Text on riparian zone and floodplain aerial photography (1000 scale): Forested riparian zones (i.e., stream side habitats with tree cover along banks) are generally considered an important indicator of ecosystem health. These riparian zones are critical for the input of leaf material to streams and rivers to support food web communities and energy flow in the ecosystem. In addition, riparian habitat represents a primary "ecotone" or transition zone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and is a sensitive indicator of human impacts. Intact riparian vegetation helps to stabilize stream-banks and prevent erosion, and provides a natural buffer against sedimentation from road development and migration of pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural activities. Scientific research indicates that intact riparian areas are associated with high water quality and that riparian habitat functions as a "sponge" greatly reducing nutrient and sediment runoff into streams.
Floodplain aerial photography and selected planimetrics (hydrography and bridges) in Wilkes-Barre	Text on floodplain aerial photography (200 scale): Natural floodplains and associated wetlands, including stream and river channel habitats, are critical components of all watersheds and river ecosystems. Collectively, these wetlands perform a number of functions in watershed ecosystems in regard to groundwater recharge, retention and processing of pollutants and nutrients, reduction in stormwater surges, and aquatic habitat for fish and wildlife.