~ Water Resources Association ~

Water Resource Associations of the Delaware River Basin

Winter '04

Chairman's Message

Waters of the Delaware River came into the news briefly, a few days after our Fall Conference. On October 26, 2003, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a three-page essay and pictures on the project to deepen the main channel of the Delaware to 45 feet (the Corps of Engineers presently maintains the channel depth at 40 feet). That is the good news.

Most of the story focused on the Riverkeeper and her views - not surprisingly, views opposed to a human project that (inevitably) changes nature. The benefits of a deeper channel from Philadelphia to the Bay were presented, albeit briefly, and then attacked on economic and ecological grounds. Although the article voiced no conclusion in this fairly technical debate, the theme of imminent environmental degradation suffuses the presentation. Industry, government generally, and the Corps specifically, are the bad guys.

The Inquirer did not discuss how Philadelphia dropped from number 1 in trade with the country and world to a port primarily known for handling bulk commodities. Neither did the article discuss the immense environmental improvement of the Delaware through the hard work of industry, government and the Corps.

Key elements in the new draft Strategic Plan for WRA are honesty and effective communication with the press and public. Our membership is a technocratic treasure house, ready to provide sound data and comment on the issues. Our system for delivering the message is expanding to meet the challenges of the Plan. The WRA web site will keep you posted on our progress.

Kenneth Myers
WRA Chairman

The PCB TMDL...Will It Work?

The development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for PCB's in the Delaware Estuary is an extraordinarily complex undertaking. The DRBC and EPA should be commended for their persistence in achieving the collaborative effort that has resulted in this TMDL. They have introduced an expert panel, world renowned PCB modeling firms, and an advisory committee to guide this complex endeavor. DRBC has worked under a court mandated schedule that allowed only a few years for scientific study and modeling that elsewhere has taken ten years or more to complete.

As a result, scientifically sound solutions have not yet been achieved and EPA has correctly chosen to stage the PCB TMDL building on the adaptive implementation concept advanced in the Study entitled "Assessing the TMDL Approach to Water Quality Management (2001)" (1) . The TMDL reports prepared by DRBC point out the model and data deficiencies that lead to the need for a phased approach and set out a process for refinement that will support a Stage II PCB TMDL.

The following key points have evolved from the PCB studies completed to date:

• The PCB loadings to the Delaware Estuary are 3 to 4 orders of magnitude greater than the TMDL. The PCB TMDL for the entire Delaware Estuary is less than four tenths of a gram per day.
• The majority of PCB's come from sources such as sediment, air, non-point source runoff, contaminated sites, and boundary points such as the ocean and the Delaware main stem.
• Point sources represent less than 10% of the PCB load.
• The single digit picogram Water Quality Standard translates to a fish tissue goal that is exceeded in almost all fish in the world.
• Because of the ubiquitous nature of PCB's and their existence in sources such as the air and the oceans, achieving the water quality standard will take decades.
• These facts support the use of Pollutant Minimization Plans that can be reasonably and cost effectively implemented by point source dischargers. Dischargers will be implementing these plans over the next year.
• No plans presently exist to reduce the majority of the PCB loads to the estuary.

An implementation committee is proposed for Phase II to begin to address the issues raised above. This committee along with continued scientific expert input should address the following technical deficiencies in the Phase I effort.

• The actual loadings must be more adequately defined.
• Data from some NJ contaminated sites are missing.
• Tributary loads are based upon inadequate number of samples.
• Non-point loads are based on literature values only.
• Field, trip and rinsate blanks were not considered in the loading calculations.
• The long-term temporal behavior of the model is inconsistent with historical sediment and fish tissue data that have leveled off in recent years, while the model predicts a continued decline.
• The model is not able to predict the spatial PCB sediment concentrations, especially in the lower portion of the estuary.
• The organic carbon model does not reproduce the estuarine turbidity maximum.
• The model must handle the complexity of total PCB's, not just the "penta" fraction.
• The determination of more accurate loadings and incorporation of the above model refinements must be completed before the model is calibrated and usable for Stage II Waste Load Allocations (WLAs) for point sources and load allocations for non-point sources (LAS).

With the need to address these data and model deficiencies in Stage II along with the stated intention of DRBC to revise the water quality standard, it is difficult to understand the purpose for developing detailed WLAs for each and every point source discharger. As the reports clearly state, these numbers are going to change in Stage II. Thus it would seem much more appropriate to set zonal point source aggregate WLAs, similar to the approach of the EPA approved Nickel TMDL for the Houston Ship Channel (2) . In this case, EPA set a gross WLA for more than 530 permitted point sources.

The Stage II task ahead is daunting and is time limited. EPA and DRBC must work diligently to continue the collaborative process that worked well in Stage I and must secure the resources necessary to scientifically complete this next phase.

(1) National Resource Council
(2) See Fourteen Total Maximum Daily Loads for Nickel in the Houston Ship Channel System, adopted by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission ("TNRCC") in June 2002, approved by EPA in May 2003.

The assistance of Dennis Blair of the Philadelphia Water Department in preparing this article is gratefully acknowledged

Fairmount Water Works is Dedicated

The Fairmount Water Works will once again begin to attract thousands of yearly visitors with the new Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center (FWWIC). The Center opened its doors in late-October 2003 as Philadelphia 's premier eco-tourism attraction. The overall theme of the $5.6 million environmental education center nestled beside the Schuylkill River is "Water In Our World." The exhibits for this world-class project focus on the urban watershed and the incredible history of this site, including an actual working model of the Fairmount Water Works. The 9,000-square-foot Interpretive Center not only offers conventional and high-tech interactive exhibits, but also includes several river balconies, an historic esplanade, a classroom, a Water Lab for visiting students, and a small theater for multimedia and professional presentations. The U.S. Department of the Interior has declared the Fairmount Water Works a National Historic Landmark as have two professional engineering societies. Historical reports on its technology and architecture are deposited in the Library of Congress.
Click here for additional information...

Christina River Partnership Receives $1 Million EPA Grant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 2, 2003 that the Christina River Basin had been selected to receive Watershed Initiative funding in the form of a $1 million grant to support the health and restoration of the watershed. The Christina was one of only twenty watersheds awarded a grant by the EPA under this national program out of 176 applications received. The check was presented to Carol Collier, Executive Director of the DRBC and representing the Christina Basin Clean Water Partnership, the lead watershed group for the Christina, by EPA Region III Administrator, Donald Welsh, at a ceremony in Delaware on November 7.

The Christina River and its tributaries, including the Brandywine , White Clay and Red Clay Creeks , are an important resource to the people of Pennsylvania and Delaware . This river has been selected to receive Watershed Initiative funding to support the health and restoration of the river. This watershed group plans to use grant money to restore and protect the river by implementing agricultural and stormwater Best Management Practices in targeted areas of the river, and to implement SMARTYARD homeowner landscape projects.

Subcommittee on Ecological Flows Identifies Initial Tasks

The Subcommittee for Ecological Flows (SEF) held its kickoff meeting on October 16, 2003 and appointed Colin Apse of The Nature Conservancy as the Chair of the Committee. SEF reports to DRBC's Flow Management Technical Advisory Committee (FMTAC). The tasks identified by the committee are as follows.

• Assist NY DEC in the definition of a monitoring protocol for the interim NYC reservoir releases program for consideration by FMTAC.
• Compile a resource list of projects and research applicable to determining ecological flow needs in the Delaware Basin .
• Identify and, when feasible, compile applicable Delaware Basin biological, water quality, and hydrologic data. Identify data gaps and research needs.
• Describe relationships between flow characteristics and ecological integrity in the Delaware Basin .
• Develop ecological flow regime alternatives for use in modeling and evaluation of flow management proposals.

Please contact WRA for more information on SEF.

Golden Membership Announced

Recognizing that the Water Resources Association has been fortunate to have many dedicated, long-tenured members, the Board of Directors has determined that such members deserve special recognition and, to that end, has established a "Golden (Lifetime) Membership" category.

WRA is pleased to recognize and honor the accomplishments of one of our longest-tenured individual members and our first Golden (Lifetime) Member , Ethel Bishop of Allentown , PA. Ethel has been a member of WRA since 1978.

Ethel was born in Philadelphia in 1910. She is a graduate of Wilson College ( Chambersburg , PA ) with a major in Chemistry and holds a Masters in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania . She taught chemistry at the college level and is a long-standing, active member of the American Chemical Society.

Ethel is well known not only in the Lehigh Valley but Statewide as a knowledgeable and leading advocate of natural resource conservation and sound environmental practices. She is an active member and supporter of many environmental organizations including: The Sierra Club, The Audubon Society, and The Lehigh County Conservancy. She chaired the Natural Resources Committee of the League of Women Voters, Lehigh County (Allentown Area) chapter, for many years.

Until recently, Ethel was active in the Lehigh County Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, participating in their water sampling and monitoring program, demonstrating a groundwater contamination model, promoting environmental education, recruiting volunteers for the Environmental Corps, and organizing Earth Day events.

In Memoriam

On September 2, 2003 , the Water Resources Association lost one its most passionate and well respected advocates, Dr. John L. Buzzi. "Jack" was 67 when he passed away. He was a former Chairman of WRA and on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for many, many years. His straightforward, cut to the chase style was tempered by a good sense of humor and compassion towards his colleagues and friends. He was the driving force behind WRA's very successful Annual Recognition Dinner and coordinated it for many years until his retirement.

Jack graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and earned a masters and doctoral degree from Rutgers University , where he became a member of the faculty. He was the owner and president of Kupper Associates, a civil engineering firm located in Piscataway , New Jersey , from 1976 until his retirement in 1997. The firm specialized in environmental infrastructure projects related to flood control, wastewater and solid waste management, and urban redevelopment.

Besides being a leader in WRA and the recipient of numerous awards and honors, Jack was active in many other community activities in New Jersey and the region. He founded the Civil Engineering Technical Advisory Council, the Save Our Port Coalition and the New Jersey Maritime Advisory Council where he served as chairman of the latter two groups. He was also chairman of the Public Involvement Coordination Group of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a founding member and past-chairman of the New Jersey Alliance for Action. In addition, he served as a member of the Natural Resources Citizens Advisory Council for New Jersey 's Department of Environmental Protection.

WRA's Board acknowledges Jack's lifelong commitment to excellence and community involvement. He will be missed by all.