24/7 Monitors Distributed To Public Water Systems
Kurt Logue (left) from Austin Borough was among water system operators receiving instructions as they picked up the 24/7 monitors at the Gunzburger Building.
Monitoring equipment will be installed on nearly every source of public drinking water in Potter County no later than mid-July. Triple Divide Watershed Coalition chair Charlie Tuttle and Campbell Scientific representative Steve Gunderson this week distributed the monitors to operators for installation on wells, springs and surface water sources supplying their water systems. Shinglehouse Borough is the only TDWC affiliate not participating. Sixteen monitors are being placed on the other 10 public water systems in the county. The monitors will capture and archive data on water temperature, flow, and contents to create a baseline and sound an early warning in the event of contamination. The state’s settlement with JKLM Energy for its 2015 environmental violation at a shale gas drilling site off North Hollow Road has yielded $100,000 for the monitoring systems.
On a related note, coalition members discussed the need to update each system’s certified Sourcewater Protection Zone Plan. Mark Stephens, geologist with the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) regional office in Williamsport, said most of the elements in the current plans will not change and updating them should not pose a stiff challenge. Assistance is available through the Potter County Planning/GIS Department and the Pa. Rural Water Assn. Stevens said that the plans will be taking on increased importance when DEP begins to incorporate Sourcewater Protection Zone Plans into the department’s permit review process and other maps/records maintained by the department.