Lackawanna Watershed Program

Saint Rose Academy

2009-2010

Air Pollution

• 2003 air pollution stats in Lackawanna Co, Pennsylvania– Total number of days monitored:365– Good air: 264 (72.33%)– Moderate air: 97 (26.58%)– Unhealthy for sensitive groups: 4 (1.10%)– Unhealthy for all: 0 (0.00%)

• Worst pollutants:– Carbon monoxide: 1 (0.27%)– Nitrogen dioxide: 0 (0.00%)– Ozone: 7 (1.92%)

www.feedagg.com

Water Pollution in PA• Agricultural runoff

– Agricultural runoff occurs when runoff from rain or melting snow carries soil, pesticides and fertilizers from fields into nearby waters.

– When soil is carried into a stream or river, it can suspend in the water to make it cloudy, or it settles to the bottom as silt.

– Cloudy water also absorbs more sunlight than clear water. This may raise the water temperature. A temperature that’s too high can stress or kill aquatic organisms.

• Abandoned mine drainage – AMD pollutes almost half of

Pennsylvania’s impaired waters. AMD is one of our waterway’s worst pollutants.

– AMD occurs when water enters abandoned coal mines. Runoff from mine lands and refuse piles may also form AMD.

– Water reacts with iron pyrite in the coal and surrounding rocks and forms acids. These acids are then transported into our waters.

Land Pollution: LitteringThe most COMMONLY

littered item? The cigarette butt!Many smokers believethat cigarette butts are notLitter and decomposequickly. The plastic filterscan take up to 15 years to decompose!!

Our Watershed Project

• Saint Rose Academy has sponsored a two-mile stretch of highway since our inception in 2005

• The section of highway has not been cleaned since we adopted it

• Our watershed team set out to clean up this stretch of the Casey Highway in Carbondale, Pa

Casey Highway Mile 13.6-14.6

Casey Highway Clean-Up

Casey Highway Clean-Up

Casey Highway Clean-Up

Casey Highway Clean-Up

Casey Highway Clean-Up

Casey Highway Mile 14.6

Casey Highway Mile 14.6

Things Found on the Side of the Road

• Beer cans and bottles

• Parking tickets

• Tires and other rubber items

• Car plastic, lenses, license plates

• Horse Feed

• Used Diapers

• Scrap Metal

PA Adopt-A-Highway Program• The Adopt-A-Highway Program in Pennsylvania

has had more miles adopted than any other state in the nation!

• The Program is simple... You, your civic or volunteer group may sign a two-year program participation request with PennDOT to adopt a two-mile portion of state highway and promise to pick-up litter at least four times a year. In return, PennDOT will post signs along the highway giving you or your group full credit for your efforts.

• Your safety is important... PennDOT will provide complete safety training for volunteers as well as orange safety vests and highway warning signs to be used during litter pick-ups. The Department also provides trash bags and will pickup the bagged litter from the roadside.

PA Adopt-A-Highway Program

• Take care of the environment... You can join a popular effort to clean-up litter on Pennsylvania's collective front yard - its 150,000 acres of roadside. By helping to keep this great state clean for our own residents, as well as for the millions of visitors who travel our roads every year, you are making an important contribution to take care of the environment.

• HOW TO GET INVOLVED If your group would like to participate in Pennsylvania's Adopt-A-Highway Program, contact your local PennDOT County Maintenance Office. The county listings can provide you with addresses, phone numbers, and contacts for the programs in your county.