Day 241: 8/30/11- Take Part in National Water Quality Month

Day 241: 8/30/11
New Thing: Take Part in National Water Quality Month  

Inspiration: The Susquehanna River    
Cost: $0
Time: About 5 minuets                                      
Bottom Line: Doing my part in trying to save this wonderful river.

Me on the Mighty Susquehanna

Reflection: You may remember that I went kayaking on the Susquehanna River with my sister, Ali, earlier in the month. That huge, beautiful river was where I grew up and so it is very dear to my heart. You may also remember that one of the goals I have set for myself this year is to do something related to Eco-stewardship each month. So, today I was able to combine both passions to take part in National Water Quality Month.


Sadly, the Susquehanna has become the #1 most endangered river in America due to natural gas fracking (this is a real word, I promise) which is putting millions of people's water source at risk. Here is what the American Rivers Group has to say:

One of the longest rivers in America, the Susquehanna River provides over half of the freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay and drinking water to millions of people. Communities and businesses depend on the river for drinking water, commerce, hydropower generation, and recreational boating. Now this resource is at risk of contamination.

The Susquehanna River and its tributaries flow over the Marcellus Shale region, a rock formation underlying much of New York and Pennsylvania, containing reserves of natural gas. The rush to develop natural gas has come without consideration of the impacts to clean water, rivers, and the health of these communities.

The threat of contamination is high. As part of the hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” process to extract natural gas, massive amounts of water are withdrawn from rivers and streams. The water is then mixed with sand and toxic chemicals and pumped underground to fracture the shale under extreme pressure. A portion of that highly toxic, highly saline, and potentially radioactive wastewater will return to the surface, and requires specialized treatment, but at this time, only a limited number of wastewater treatment facilities have the capacity to handle it.

Already, spills from trucks hauling wastewater, leaks from lined fluid holding pits, and cracked well casings have contaminated private water wells. The potential for future environmental and public health catastrophes along the Susquehanna will only increase, considering the number of new wells projected and the amount of toxic wastewater produced.

Today, I took one small step in helping to conserve this river by signing a petition which can also be found at the website here. It is my prayer that we will be able to stop more damage being done to this important and beautiful river.