Case Study: Allentown, PA

188 Pages·2001·1.76 MB·English

by  David Korn

Watershed
Assessment
Allentown,
Pennsylvania
bLANK
Watershed
Assessment
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Prepared By
The Cadmus Group, Inc.
135 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452
Prepared For
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 3
841 Chestnut Building
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Contract No. 68-C5-0061
Work Assignment No. 1-32
September 30, 1998
bLANK
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................VII
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................................IX
1.0 INTRODUCTION: A WATERSHED APPROACH........................................................1
1.1 NEW REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.............................2
1.2 PILOT PROJECTS IN PENNSYLVANIA..........................................................................4
2.0 THE WATERSHED AND DRINKING WATER SYSTEM...........................................7
2.1 DESCRIPTION.............................................................................................................7
2.2 GEOLOGY AND LITHOLOGY.......................................................................................7
2.3 TOPOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................8
2.4 SOILS..........................................................................................................................8
2.5 LAND USE..................................................................................................................9
2.6 POPULATION............................................................................................................11
2.7 GENERAL HYDROLOGY...........................................................................................12
2.8 THE DRINKING WATER SYSTEM.............................................................................14
2.9 CREEK WATER QUALITY AND PREVIOUS STUDIES.................................................15
2.9.1 Wildlands Study.........................................................................16
2.9.2 Pennsylvania 303(d) List of Impaired Waters.........................17
2.9.3 Sampling by Bureau of Water Resources--1998......................19
3.0 METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................................23
3.1 DELINEATION OF THE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION AREA...................................23
3.2 CONTAMINANT INVENTORY....................................................................................23
3.3 NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION LOADING ESTIMATES..........................................26
3.4 SUSCEPTIBILITY ANALYSIS.....................................................................................28
3.5 POTENTIAL POLLUTANT SOURCES..........................................................................29
3.5.1 Right to Know Environmental On-line Database....................29
3.5.2 Environmental Protection Agency On-line Database Access.32
3.5.3 Commercial Databases.............................................................33
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3.6 SAMPLING METHODS...............................................................................................36
4.0 ALLENTOWN ISSUE 1: SEDIMENTATION AND TURBIDITY.............................39
4.1 EROSION/ SUSPENDED SOLIDS/SEDIMENTATION....................................................39
4.2 SOIL EROSION AND TRANSPORT PROCESSES..........................................................40
4.3 IS SEDIMENT A WATER QUALITY PROBLEM?.........................................................41
4.4 RATES OF EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION..............................................................41
4.5 SOURCES OF SEDIMENT...........................................................................................43
4.6 HOW CAN EROSION AND SEDIMENT DELIVERY BE DECREASED?.........................46
4.7 RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................51
5.0 POTENTIAL POLLUTANT SOURCES..........................................................................55
5.1 POINT SOURCES.......................................................................................................56
5.2 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SITES....................................................................59
5.2.1 Industrial and Commercial Users of Toxic Materials.............59
5.2.3 Superfund Sites..........................................................................60
5.2.2 Automobile-Related Commercial Facilities.............................60
5.2.3 Other Commercial Facilities....................................................65
5.3 STORMWATER RUNOFF............................................................................................66
5.3.1 Stormwater Related Problems and Sites Identified by
Stakeholders.............................................................................................69
5.3.2 Field Observations....................................................................72
6.0 FECAL CONTAMINATION.............................................................................................77
6.1 GENERAL DISCUSSION.............................................................................................77
6.2 PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF PROTOZOAN PARASITES IN WATERSHEDS.....78
6.3 SOURCES OF GIARDIA AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN WATERSHEDS.........................79
6.4 SOURCES OF GIARDIA AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM AND OTHER FECAL RELATED
CONTAMINATION IN THE LITTLE LEHIGHWATERSHED..........................................80
6.4.1 Point Sources............................................................................82
6.5 BACTERIOLOGICAL SAMPLING................................................................................82
6.5.1 Project Sampling--July 1998....................................................84
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6.5.2 Sampling by Allentown Bureau of Water Resources...............85
6.5.3 Giardia and Cryptosporidium And Sampling by
Pennsylvania DEP--1998..........................................................86
6.6 RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................88
6.6.1 Watershed Coalition and Subcommittee.................................90
6.6.2 Sampling....................................................................................90
6.6.3 Suggested Efforts to Reduce Fecal Contamination in
Allentown’s Watershed.............................................................93
7.0 PESTICIDES........................................................................................................................95
7.1 PESTICIDE USE ON CORN-NATIONAL SUMMARY...................................................95
7.2 PESTICIDE USE ON CORN-BERKS, CHESTER, LANCASTER, AND LEHIGH
COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.....................................................................................96
7.3 SAMPLING, EXISTING DATA, AND OBSERVATION................................................101
7.4 RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................102
8.0 NUTRIENTS.......................................................................................................................103
8.1 AGRICULTURAL USE OF NUTRIENTS.....................................................................104
8.2 SAMPLING FOR PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN......................................................106
8.3 ESTIMATES OF NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS LOADING.......................................108
8.4 SOURCES OF NITROGEN.........................................................................................111
8.5 COMPONENTS OF NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANNING......................................113
8.6 RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................116
8.6.1 Technical Recommendations--Stormwater............................116
8.6.2 Technical Recommendations--Agricultural...........................117
8.6.3 Organizational Recommendations.........................................118
9.0 RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................................119
9.1 WATERSHED COALITIONS.....................................................................................119
9.1.1 Why Form a Watershed Coalition?........................................120
9.1.2 Key Stakeholders.....................................................................123
9.1.3 Watershed Coalition Principles..............................................124
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9.2 FINANCING A WATERSHED EFFORT.....................................................................126
9.2.1 Federal programs:..................................................................127
9.2.2 State Programs........................................................................132
9.2.3 Nonprofit Organizations.........................................................136
9.3 LONG TERM WATER QUALITY MONITORING.......................................................138
9.3.1 Where to Sample?...................................................................139
9.3.2 When and How Often to Sample?...........................................139
9.3.3 What to Sample?......................................................................139
9.3.4 How to Extend Limited Sampling Resources.........................140
9.4 RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE COALITION AND CITY.........141
9.4.1 Outreach..................................................................................142
9.4.2 Hire Watershed Staff...............................................................143
9.4.3 Recommended Activities.........................................................143
9.5 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................144
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Cadmus Group wishes to thank the many agency staff members, conservation
group members, and citizens that gave freely of their time in helping Cadmus complete
this project. Following is a partial list of contributors to the project:
Daniel Koplish, Manager of Water Resources, City of Allentown, Bureau of
Water Resources
Joeseph McMahon, Bureau of Water Resources
John Parsons, Laboratory Manager, Bureau of Water Resources
Chris Kocher, Wildlands Conservancy
Stacey Cromer, Wildlands Conservancy
Paul Sell, Jr., Lehigh County Conservation District
Lisa Lepeta, NRCS
Tom Jaeger, Pennsylvania DEP
Joe Lee, Pennsylvania DEP
John Diehl, Pennsylvania DEP
Dale Long, U.S. EPA Region 3
Ashley Toy, U.S. EPA Region 3
The Cadmus Group gratefully acknowledges the funding provided for this project
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and EPA Region 3.
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