RESEARCH

The Pennsylvania Water Resouces Research Center (WRRC) is administered by the Penn State Institutes of the Environment (PSIE).

CURRENT WRRC RESEARCH PROJECTS

Using an annual allotment of $75,000-$85,000, the Pennsylvania Center for Water Resources Research provides administration and funding for a program of small grants in support of exploratory water resources research, public education, and training. Funds are provided on a 2:1 non-federal: federal matching basis. Funded activities for 2003 are:

Spruce Creek Watershed Keystone Project
Using Crumb Rubber Filtraton for Ballast Water Treatment
Development of Passive Treatment System Monitoring and Research Program
Water Conservation Training and Public Education

Spruce Creek Watershed Keystone Project
This proposal seeks support for a graduate assistant working with an interdisciplinary team of graduate students and faculty engaged in a watershed assessment and planning practicum (Keystone Project) in the Spruce Creek watershed of the Little Juniata River, Pennsylvania. Through participation in a watershed case problem, the students will develop competence in scientific data collection techniques and problem analysis tools directed at quantifying, analyzing, and ultimately mitigating widespread types of polluted runoff. The Keystone Project will also afford the graduate assistant an enhanced education in community-based, team-oriented watershed management and will provide outreach to the host watershed community. The project itself will address water quality issues in Spruce Creek, a high quality trout stream threatened by land development, agricultural enterprises, and in-stream flow reductions from groundwater withdrawals. The entire Spruce Creek watershed is designated as a High Quality-Cold Water Fishery by the PADEP Chapter 93 Water Quality Standards. However, a major tributary was recently listed as impaired for suspended solids by the PADEP 303(d) list, attributable to agriculture and land development activities. Watershed stakeholders are concerned that other stream segments may be impaired, and there are emerging problems with inadequate treatment of sewage effluent from on-lot systems. Data on stream flow and water chemistry are insufficient to calculate pollutant loadings as the baseline to determine appropriate reductions needed to achieve water quality standards and protect designated uses.

Project Objectives

a) Conduct an assessment of biophysical and cultural factors in the watershed related to protection and restoration of water quality to support designated uses and progressive land use.
b) Analyze assessment data to identify problems and opportunities and engage a broad base of stakeholders in developing shared watershed restoration and protection goals.
c) Produce a watershed stewardship plan responsive to those goals and that incorporates implementable recommendations and strategies for cooperative action. A model Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) would be prepared for the impaired reach of Halfmoon Creek.

Methods

Water samples will be collected at five stations on Halfmoon Creek - three within the impaired reach, one upstream of the impaired reach, and one reference station in the upper watershed. Samples will also be collected at stations on Spruce Creek above and below the confluence with Halfmoon Creek. Analysis will be done for total suspended solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. Runoff event samples will also be collected randomly through project period. Measurement of stream flow will be done concurrently using portable current meters. Pennsylvania Spatial Data land cover and other data will be retrieved and clipped using Arc-View GIS. The Keystone team and the research assistant will be engaged in organizing a series of community stakeholder input meetings. A day-long watershed planning workshop of experts will be convened in Spring 2004 to review and critique the proposed pollution abatement recommendations developed by the student team and to develop strategies for implementation of management practices. These recommendations would be presented at a public forum at the completion of the Keystone Project in April 2004. The graduate research assistant funded by this proposed grant would have lead responsibility of communicating the data findings and the analysis to layperson and technical audiences at the various forums and workshop and in direct meetings with private landowners and representatives of collaborating agencies involved in implementation of watershed restoration practices.

Using Crumb Rubber Filtraton for Ballast Water Treatment
Discharging ballast water from ships causes many water resource problems in Pennsylvania, especially in Lake Erie, the Susquehanna River, the Delaware River, and their tributaries. When non-indigenous species (e.g., Zebra mussel) transported from a foreign environment are introduced to a new water body, the water quality could be significantly impacted. A cost effective treatment technology is needed to remove or inactivate these invasive species in ballast water. Water filtration is an effective process to remove microorganisms in water and wastewater. However, due to its heavy weight and low production efficiency, conventional sand/anthracite filtration is not economically feasible for ballast water treatment. An innovative crumb rubber filtration technology has been developed at Penn State Harrisburg. The crumb rubber filter allows greater depth filtration and it then allows a greater filtration rate. The significant light weight of crumb rubber filters could be an advantage to be used in mobile and in-vessel treatment facilities for ballast water filtration.
The objective of this research is to investigate the application of crumb rubber filtration for ballast water treatment. The invasive species removal efficiency in ballast water will be used to evaluate the technology. The research will be conducted in two phases.
Phase I consists of laboratory studies to evaluate the effects of size and depth of crumb rubber on the filter performance using water from Susquehanna River. The results from our current wastewater filtration study will be evaluated and modified for ballast water filtration.
Phase II consists of field studies to evaluate the filter performance using ballast water or water from the ports of Baltimore or Philadelphia. The filter performance will be evaluated using the removal of invasive species and water production.
The success of the proposed project will provide a cost effective ballast water treatment technology. The technology also reduces scrap tire problems in the nation. The highly efficient and light weight crumb rubber filter could be installed as in-vessel treatment units, mobile treatment facilities, and shore based treatment facilities.
This project is significantly different from our current project, Water Reuse: Using Crumb Rubber for Wastewater Filtration. The current project is to evaluate the crumb rubber filtration for the removal of organics and suspended solids in wastewater and explore a new water resource, reclaimed water. The goal of the proposed project is to remove invasive biological species from ballast water and protect the ecosystem in coastal waters, major rivers and their tributaries. Because of the crumb rubber filtration is used in both studies, the results from the current project will benefit the proposed project.

Development of Passive Treatment System Monitoring and Research Program
Restoration Inc. and Grove City College propose to develop a training program to monitor passive treatment systems and receiving streams in the headwaters of Slippery Rock Creek. Since 1995, a public-private partnership effort consisting of non-profit corporations, colleges and universities, private industries, and governmental agencies have cooperated in the restoration of the 27-sq. mi. headwater area of the Slippery Rock Creek Watershed. The quality of the headwaters was documented in 1970 by Operation Scarlift to be heavily impacted by abandoned mine drainage. To date, 15 passive treatment systems have been constructed within the project area including every major type of component, such as vertical flow ponds, aerobic wetlands, anoxic limestone drains, open limestone channels, and horizontal flow limestone beds. Even though the passive systems are low maintenance, periodic inspection and monitoring will help insure the timely resolution of minor maintenance issues before larger problems develop. In addition, decreasing effectiveness in water treatment will also be documented in order to improve the design of future passive systems. This program will continue the extremely important outreach and educational opportunities to students and interns, vital not only to the professional growth of individual students but also to sustaining the watershed restoration concept.

Water Conservation Training and Public Education
Serious droughts and increasing competition for water have exacerbated water use disputes in Pennsylvania in recent years. Recently passed water use legislation in the state has focused on water conservation as an important tool for future management of the states water supplies. There is presently little specific information or education available to the public on comprehensive, long-term water conservation measures. The Cooperative Extension system provides an attractive vehicle to disseminate water conservation education throughout Pennsylvania. This project would increase public knowledge of water conservation and water use issues through education programs delivered by trained Cooperative Extension Agents with water conservation publications and displays. A two-day in-service program related to water conservation education would be delivered to approximately 25 Extension agents from Pennsylvania. The program will include presentations and field trips on drought, water use, home water conservation, youth water conservation education, landscape water conservation, water re-use, agricultural water management, river basin water management, and western water conservation experiences. Each attendee will receive a binder with written background materials and a CD with PowerPoint presentations. A home water conservation publication and a water conservation tabletop display will be created to support public programs presented by the agents. A web-based evaluation tool will be used to determine the number of citizens that participated in educational programs delivered by agents and the number that initiate water conservation practices.