A pilot or reconnaissance monitoring program
was developed to determine the water quality of the Tinkers Run headwater
system located in the Turtle Creek Watershed, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
The assessment included physical, chemical, and biological parameters with
an analysis of this triad of data utilizing the Sun Ray Plot technique
to aid in the determination of the impairment(s) to this system.
The physical component of the assessment
included observations of percent canopy cover, stream morphology, substrate
composition, land use, flow, and velocity. The chemical component parameters
included nitrate, reactive phosphorus, sulfate, total iron, pH, dissolved
oxygen, and water temperature. The biological component consisted of fecal
coliform and macroinvertebrate collections.
Overall, the tributaries of this system
appear to be mid - high quality streams with all sampling sites within
the study area showing some impairment to the physical component. Reduced
canopies, unstable stream banks, channeling, and reduced substrate composition
(macroinvertebrate habitat) were impacting the system overall.
The system does contain an AMD impacted
site that had sulfate and total iron concentrations exceeding the assay
limits of 455+ mg/L and 330+ mg/L, respectively. The Scarlift report by
the Department of Environmental Protection (1977) noted a range of total
iron as 49 - 195 mg/1 for this discharge. A 45% dissolved oxygen percent
saturation was determined for this site and a pH of 5.8 - 6.8.
Throughout the system, fecal coliform concentrations ranged from 1 - 115 bacteria per mL indicating no serious sewage problems. Macroinvertebrates were identified to the family level with 10 taxa found and the Order Diptera (Midges) dominating the collections followed by Heptageniinae (Mayfly) and Hydropsychidae (Caddisfly). The taxa were assigned a Tolerance Value utilizing the Environmental Protection Agency (1999) values ranging from 0 - 10 with values increasing as water quality decreases. An average tolerance value or Average HBI (Hilsenhoff Biotic Index) was then calculated for each site based on the organisms collected. Of the four collection sites, three had HBI values ranging from 4.3 - 5.2; at the AMD site there were no macroinvertebrates found.
Recommendations were made for exploring wetland remediation of the AMD discharge and for a combined effort from the watershed association and township borough officials to develop and implement a monitoring program focused on identifying impacts and forming recommendations for decreasing impacts to this system.