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A
QUICK OVER VIEW OF THE PROJECT
- Program is assisted
by The Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) at Dickinson College
- Formed to monitor the
health of the Shermans Creek, especially because of increasing
economic and residential development
- Will gather
pre-existing data, and conducting water quality monitoring
- Data collected
includes:
- Air and water
temperatures
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Nitrates
- Alkalinity and pH
- General weather,
stream and stream-bank conditions
- Will be trained in
identifying biological indicators such as Fecal Coliform and Benthic
Macroinvertebrates (both which can inform us about the biological
health of the creek and it's response to pollution)
- The data will be
used to provide public education on this community resource
- to target areas
for restoration and protection projects
- to help the county
and municipalities with land development plans that protect the
Shermans Creek.
- Program involves a
once a month testing, one day of the second weekend of each month, and
an occasional "specialized" testing throughout the seasons
- ALLARM and The SCCA
provide the Chemical test kits and training for you
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A More In
Depth Look at the Monitoring Program
PROBLEM
DEFINITION AND BACKGROUND
The Shermans Creek Conservation Association was formed in the
winter of 1998 in order to protect and preserve the watershed and environment
of the Shermans Creek and it's watershed. After gathering information
regarding the suspected septic dumping, chemical run-off, dumping of trash
and garbage, and the advancing economic development of this community, the
Association decided to organize a water testing program to monitor the
watershed.
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MONITORING OBJECTIVES
- Provide information
and awareness concerning the health and safety of the watershed to
residents and local community officials.
- Monitor the water
for any pollution sources affecting human recreational safety,
specifically swimming holes.
- Collect data
regarding habitat and water quality for natural resource preservation
or restoration.
- Identify any sources
of illegal septic discharge or chemical pollutants.
- Establish a baseline
to protect and preserve the watercourse for future development
planning.
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WHAT WILL BE MONITORED
Historically speaking, sometime in the mid 1700's, The Pennsylvania
Legislature declared The Shermans Creek to be an official Public Right of
Transportation and Thoroughfare and was also used as a part of the route
West.
Today the Shermans Creek is mainly used for recreation purposes.
The watershed has both cold and warm water fisheries and is known for its
Bass and Trout population. It is used heavily for recreational
purposes by many canoe and kayakers and also for swimming and picnicking.
Being a very rural and agricultural county, there are areas of the creek
that are affected by runoff of fertilizers and animal waste due to the
amount of farms and of dairy herds. There have been many residents'
complaints of questionable substances spread onto adjoining properties and illegal
dumping of septic waste into the stream.
Certain sections of the creek in the initial testing areas have been
known to be one of the State's best Bass fishing areas. There have
been many Herons, Egrets and other Water Fowl sited in these areas along
with a variety of reptiles, amphibians and a large variety of mammals
depending on the Creek as a food and water source.
Two sites within a 3-mile stretch are used often during the summer
months as swimming and picnicking areas. They are also primarily used as
boat launching sites.
Texas Eastern Pumping Station had at one time, several PCB dump sites
near the creek and had contaminated certain ground water sources.
There are still suspected sites still left in the surrounding areas and
PCB's are something we are on the look out for.
See Land Use Map of
Shermans Creek Watershed (6MB)
See Geology Map of
Shermans Creek Watershed (2MB)
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MONITORING
SITES AND DESCRIPTIONS
Initially, the SCCA Monitoring Program focused on the Shermansdale and
Landisburg portions of the Shermans Creek. Currently, the program monitors further
into the western end of the Shermans Creek, all the way out towards the Susquehanna River.
- Warm Springs Lodge
Aread
- Route 34/ Near Pisgah State Road
(Gregory Sieber Property)
- Route 34/ Shermansdale Bridge (Downstream Site from
Brunners PSD)
- Airy View Road (Lupfers
Sewage Treatment)
- Iron Bridges
Swimming Area (Frank Wielga Property)
- Fisher's Farm (Dark
Hollow/ Mt. View Road)
- Habitat Study Site
(Lions Park
- Dellville Dam
Swimming Area
For the past 5 years, there are 4-5 consistent sites where we are
able to make comparisons of the data.
In January 2009, ALLARM presented data from these sites in a Data Interpretation
Workshop. The raw data and graphs
presented are available for your viewing below.
See Past 5-Year Results from
Data Collected
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"SHERMANS
CREEK WATERSHED MONITORING PROJECT PLAN"
Shermans Creek
Conservation Association, Inc.
In cooperation
with
The Alliance for
Aquatic Resource Monitoring
Dickinson College
2009
Matt Fry, SCCA Monitoring
Chair
Julie Vastine,
ALLARM Consultant
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