Brodhead Watershed Association

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Testimony before the Sustainable Infrastructure Task Force

Public Input Session

Wednesday May 28, 2008

Bethlehem, PA

By: Jerilyn Jewett-Smith, Ph.D.

President, Brodhead Watershed Association

Director, Environmental Studies Program, East Stroudsburg University of PA

Representative Freeman and distinguished members of the Task Force, thank-you for the opportunity to provide testimony about the concerns of the members of the Brodhed Watershed Association in regards to the sustainability of the water infrastructure in the State of Pennsylvania.

The US Census bureau QuickFacts show that Monroe County has grown from 138,687 in 2000 to an estimated 165,685 by July 1, 2006 a 19.5 % increase in roughly 6 years.  This translates to about 77,000 housing units, up from 49,000 in 2000.  The USGS/EPA/DRBC report on the effects of land-use changes and ground-water withdrawals on the Pocono Creek, published this year, predicts that the population of Monroe County will increase 70% in the time period of 2000 – 2020.  According to the EPA in 1990, more than 95 % of rural Americans get household water supplies from underground sources of water or ground water.  Yet the 2008 USGS/EPA/DRBC study predicted a decrease in recharge in some areas of the Pocono Watershed up to 60.8% should the area go to buildout land use.

 How can we maintain our hydrological cycles in this scenario?  The ground-water study was for only one of our sub-watersheds, but with the current rate of development in Monroe County, there is no reason to believe that the Pocono’s future is not representative of the entire watershed.  The other side of the water cycle is recharge.  Much of the current planning relies heavily on the old technologies of large, central sewage treatment, and not on alternatives such as land application of treated sewage from smaller, more local plants.  In summer this land application can be spray or drip application, in winter it can be used for making snow.  On-lot sewage systems, if properly maintained return the water used at the site to the aquifer, at the site.  Yet the use of these alternatives to large municipal systems face an uphill battle because the engineers who plan the future sewage treatment for a municipality don’t have confidence in them.

The third component that seems to be missing in Monroe County is conservation of the water resource.  Missing is the social marketing to inform citizens about simple conservation measures like flow restricted showers and 1.6 gallon/ flush toilets.  Missing are the incentives to participate in conservation.  It is not until the water resource is limited, like last summer’s drought, that people think about not letting that garden hose drip, or using a car wash with recycling to clean the family auto. 

A fourth component that we cannot ignore is global climate change.  Global climate change models predict much more variation in the weather, with wetter wet years and drier dry years.  With wet years, we have increased urban storm runoff.  Most of our storm drainage will go directly into our streams, with no filtration.  Streamside buffers are not mandated by all of our townships and can vary from none to 150 foot.  The science is clear that 150-foot stream buffers are best, yet the view in some of our townships is that 30 feet is too much and results in a “taking” of private property.  Our streams suffered 3 century level foods in 2005 and 2006.  The flooding was in part so severe because of the development that has already taken place in the upper parts of the Brodhead watershed: roads, parking lots and rooftops.  From a series of studies that I and Dr. Shawn Hu from ESU are involved in, we are seeing a dramatic incidence in invasive riparian plants and stream bank instability as a result of the disturbances due to extreme flooding and land use in the Brodhead watershed.   The USGS/EPA/DRBC 2008 study on ground-water withdrawal’s effects on stream base flow would suggest even more severe water shortages within our streams during a dry year.

From a document provided on the web by the Monroe County Planning Commission,  (www.co.monroe.pa.us/planning_records/lib/planning_records/planning/utilities.pdf)  only about 32% of Monroe County’s dwelling units were connected to public water systems, and about 25% on public sewer at the 1990 U.S. Census..  The current answers to meet the current and future needs of the County, do not always seem to take the protection of the water resources as primary.  Meeting the need of development and industry, with the collateral component of new jobs is often primary. 

The quality of life for humans and maintaining a sustainable use of the existing water resource is the concern of the BWA and our members.  We are small landowners, fishermen and women, hikers, teachers, business people, retirees, in short a cross section of all of the stakeholders of the area.  And we all wonder if our children, grandchildren, students, and young friends will be able to fish, hunt, hike our streams, drink from their wells in the future.

We encourage the task force to insure that the future of our water systems is protected.  We know the needs.  Please, look at innovative measures that return the water resource to the aquifer from which it was withdrawn.  Put money into social marketing to inform all of the people about storm water drain dumping, over fertilization of lawns, sensible planting and watering, in-house conservation, septic system care, littering, streamside buffers and the host of issues that TV and radio (and Web) ads can address.  Find incentives from tax breaks to free packets with low flow toilet inserts and flow restriction showerheads for homeowners.  Provide educational opportunities for engineering and environmental consulting firms as well as DEP and DCED staff to learn about decentralization so that they are comfortable suggesting options like land application.  Make sure that funding is not misused to extend sewer and water lines that encourage sprawl.  Any new funding should be limited to repairing infrastructure and making our downtowns economically vital and places where people want to work and live.

Again, Thank-you for providing this opportunity to provide testimony.  Nothing short of the future of the great State of Pennsylvania is in your hands.  Make the hard decisions.

References:

USGS/EPA/DRBC 2008.  Effects of Land-Use Changes and Ground-Water Withdrawals on Stream Base Flow, Pocono Creek Watershed, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

www.co.monroe.pa.us/planning_records/lib/planning_records/planning/utilities.pdf

quickfacts.census.gov/pfd/states/42/42089.html