Stream of Consciousness (2009)

Stream of Consciousness, Dec 2009

Stream of Consciousness is the publication for the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) at Dickinson College. Table of Contents What's Going on with Opossum Lake? / by Stevie Lewis Nanomaterials for Water Treatment / by Sunil Baidar The Sturgeon Resurgence / by Andrea Korman Stormwater Best Management Practices / by Atandi Anyona Marcellus Shale: Environmental Bane and Economic Boom / by Abi Breckinridge Legacy Sediment Considerations with Dam Removal Monitoring / by Courtney Haynes SCCA: 10 Years and Counting / by Kim Wilson Funding All Wet? Try the Internet! / by Anthony Silverman The Impacts of the Traditional American Lawn / by Maunette Watson World Sustainability and Dickinson College / by John Deyrup Class of 2009 Reflections A Year in Review

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Stream of Consciousness (2009)

Recommended Citation Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). Stream of Consciousness Stream of Consciousness (2009) Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) 0 1 2 0 Stream of Consciousness is a publication of the Alliance for Aquatic Resources Monitoring (ALLARM) at Dickinson College. For more information , please contact 1 Part of the Environmental Education Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, and the Environmental Monitoring Commons 2 Dickinson College Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.dickinson.edu/stream_of_consciousness - Stream of Consciousness a publication of the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring What’s Going on with Opossum Lake?....................1 Nanomaterials for Water Treatment............................3 The Sturgeon Resurgence..5 Stormwater Best Management Practices......6 Marcellus Shale: Environmental Bane and Economic Boon....................8 Legacy Sediment Consider ations with Dam Removal Monitoring.........................10 Funding All Wet? Try the Internet!.............................14 The Impacts of the Traditional American Lawn....................................16 What’s Going on with Opossum Lake? By Stevie Lewis Idam on Opossum creek, a tributary to the Conodoguinet Creek (Pennsylva n 1962 Opossum Lake was created through a 310 foot earth embankment DWicokrlidnsSounstCaoilnleagbeil..i.t.y....a..n..d..18 nia Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). This 59 acre man-made lake has been a local gem for the people of Lower Frankford Township and the greater CarlClass of 2009 isle community for many years. Stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, black Reflections.........................19 crappie, muskellunge and trout, anglers seek this lake out for summer and ice fishing (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). Boy Scout Troops, A Year in Review................21 and YMCA campers often kayak and canoe on the lake in the summer, and families often use the area for its hiking trails and winter ice skating opportuSpring Staff 2009.............23 nities. However, in 2005, maintenance staff observed a clayish material seeping from the dam’s weep holes (small holes put in dams for monitoring purposes), an indication of erosion (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). Many older dams are at risk of erosion through a process called undermining, where water begins to seep below the dam and undercut the structure. This problem can eventually lead to dam failure. About 50 residents and 14 homes would be at risk if the Opossum Lake dam were to fail (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). In 2005, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) began removeducate. engage. empower. “Opossum Lake” Continued on Page 2 “Opossum Lake” Continued from Page 1 ing the stop logs (a controlled structure that impound the water) two at a time over the course of a month from the top of the spillway. This process decreased the amount of pressure on the dam and slowly lowered the level of the lake to around seven feet below normal. At this point, core samples were taken to evaluate the sediments below the dam and check for more signs of erosion. The core samples confirmed undermining, and for safety measures, the PFBC continued to lower the water in the lake until it was 14 feet below the normal level (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). At this point the PFBC held a community meeting to talk about the issues of the dam and the associated costs. They informed concerned community members that they did not have the funds to fix the dam. After this meeting, about 100 people signed on to start and join the Friends of Opossum Lake Conservancy (FOLC). The goal of the group was to begin fund raising for the new dam and to bring political attention to the issue. It was determined that the most cost effective solution for remediating the Opossum Creek Dam would be to use Articulated Concrete Blocks to rebuild the spillway (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 2009). The spillway of a dam helps to ensure the water pressure does not exceed the capacity of the dam. The new dam will be able to withhold pressures of a rainstorm that releases up to Lake Conservancy continued to 33 inches in 24 hours, three times grow their “Repair the Dam Fund.” as much as the historic 1972 Hur- Eventually the $3.05 million needricane Agnes. The new structure ed for the new dam was collected creates a zigzagged spillway to and the construction planning for increase the amount of area the wa- the dam is to begin in November ter has to overtop. The repairs are 2009 (Friends of Opossum Lake estimated to take around four years Conservancy, 2009). between design and construction. It is estimated that the new construction should make the dam and lake operational for about 50 years. Proposed New Spillway http://www.opossumlakefriends.org/New_proposed_spillway.htm The Friends of Opossum Lake Conservancy began fund ra (...truncated)


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Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM). Stream of Consciousness (2009), Stream of Consciousness, 2009, Volume 41, Issue 1,