Morgantown Dominion Post
4 October 2005.
GUEST COMMENTARY BY EVAN HANSEN
In recent weeks, The Dominion Post has published a series of articles about water quality. This concern is wellplaced; too many local waters are polluted by acid mine drainage from abandoned mines, bacteria from untreated sewage and other pollutants. However, some steps are being taken by organizations, agencies, and local governments to solve these problems.
The Morgantown area is succeeding in attracting new jobs; clean water would make this job easier. Imagine if we could show prospective employers a clean Deckers Creek that workers and their families could wade and fish in, easily accessible by the rail-trail from our neighborhoods.
We've also been attracting outdoor-oriented visitors to the "scenic mountain home of WVU." Imagine how many more visitors would come and return for second visits if they could step out of their hotel room and catch smallmouth bass in Deckers Creek. This summer's triathlon, when hundreds of swimmers raced up the Monongahela River, was a vivid example of how healthy streams can help pump money into the local economy.
Friends of Deckers Creek is focusing most of its resources on cleaning up acid mine drainage. Through grants to our organization and through commitments from agencies, we are helping implement a plan to spend more than $10 million cleaning up the worst acid mine drainage sources upstream near Masontown, and downstream at the Richard Mine.
But we are thinking more broadly than acid mine drainage because we know that other problems such as polluted storm water, poorly treated sewage, and mud from construction sites will emerge as acid mine drainage is addressed. So we are laying the groundwork to tackle these issues too.
Friends of Deckers Creek does not operate in a vacuum, and cannot take credit for the efforts of agencies and governments. For example, through a partnership with the Morgantown Utility Board we have developed a storm water curriculum that is starting to be used in local schools to teach children about watersheds and what they can do to reduce pollution. MUB is upgrading their wastewater treatment plant and collection system, which will allow more sewage to be treated, and less to be dumped in local streams when it rains. MUB, the city of Morgantown, the town of Star City, and the Monongalia County Commission have contributed funds for the household hazardous waste collection day scheduled for Saturday, and for public education activities.
Together, the state Department of Environmental Protection, federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and Office of Surface Mining are spending millions in the Deckers Creek watershed to help clean up old abandoned coal mines.
The recent headlines in The Dominion Post reflect a recognition that orange streams devoid of fish are not natural. They echo parents' concerns regarding whether it is safe for their children to wade and swim in the creeks that flow through town. Behind these concerns is a growing recognition that clean rivers are crucial - maybe even essential - as Morgantown markets itself as a great small city for new businesses and as a tourist hub for outdoor activities. Let's keep clean water in the headlines, but let's recognize the scale of the problem and the resources being spent to address it. Reversing water pollution requires planning, patience, partnerships, and political will. Let's build on our successes and finish the job.
EVAN HANSEN is president of the board of directors of Friends of Deckers Creek and president of Downstream Strategies, LLC. a water-science and policy-consulting company in Morgantown. This commentary should be considered another point of view and not necessarily the opinion or editorial policy of The Dominion Post.