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Consortium for Scientific Assistance
to Watersheds Groups and Other Organizations
(C-SAW Program)
 

Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring

Training Workshop Related to Soil (Train the Trainer) or (Train the Teacher Programs)

MEET THE STAFF- Professional Team Ready to HELP YOU !
 

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The Consortium for Scientific Assistance to Watersheds (C-SAW) is a team of specialists who provide eligible watershed groups, environmental groups, or local grassroots project sponsors Program Management and Scientific Technical Assistance through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (PADEP) Growing Greener Program. The service is at no cost to eligible groups.   At present there are eight partners that are members of the C-SAW Program.

The C-SAW program is operated by the Pocono-Northeast RC&D.   The Pocono Northeast Resource Conservation & Development Council (RC&D) is a publicly supported nonprofit (IRS-501c3) organization serving ten counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.  The goal for C-SAW is to transfer knowledge and skills to watershed groups or local sponsors thereby helping to build their capacity to plan and conduct watershed assessments, and conduct post-implementation monitoring. C-SAW can provide:

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• Specialists who can help identify solutions and assist your group in the development of monitoring programs, restoration projects, and plans for protection.
   
• Training or conducting assessments and developing restoration projects and protection plans.

• C-SAW can also provide watershed organizations with assistance in watershed assessments and science related to:

• Surface water and groundwater resources
• Sediment Mapping and Analysis (Metals, Nutrients, and More)
• Ambient and event monitoring - Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring
• Biological and habitat assessment
• Water Quality Testing -Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) Programs
• Microbiology
• Surface water and ground water interactions and regional groundwater database.
• Atmospheric deposition and Wellhead or Well Field Protection Plans
• Agricultural and urban impact issues
• Lake monitoring and Watershed monitoring
• Stormwater Management - BMP Selection
• Soils evaluations and training in soil science
• Abandoned mine discharge, restoration, and treatment
• Wetlands and Hydric Soils
• Abandon Oil and Gas Wells
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In addition, C-SAW can point eligible organizations to assistance provided by other technical experts or service providers through Growing Greener.   C-SAW is not designed to conduct monitoring or assessments for watershed organizations. Rather, C-SAW hopes to help watershed organizations do a better job in their own monitoring and assessment.

Who is eligible? - Parties who are eligible to apply for Growing Greener Grants are eligible to receive assistance through C-SAW. Those parties include:

• Incorporated watershed organizations recognized by PADEP and established to promote local watershed conservation efforts
• Counties, municipalities, and their subdivisions
• County Conservation Districts
• Charitable organizations or educational institutions involved in research, restoration, rehabilitation, planning, acquisition, development or other activities that further the protection, enhancement, conservation, and preservation of Pennsylvania's environmental resources.
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In addition, the project must be one that addresses non-point sources of pollution, mining restoration, or oil and gas well plugging.
C-SAW assistance is available at NO COST to eligible groups.
 

More Information - If you would like more information about the program, send an email to Brian Oram.   You can download the assistance request form by clicking this link - Download (pdf file)
 

Prior to joining the C-SAW Program, Wilkes University was involved in a number of watershed and environmental monitoring, educational, and research partnerships and actively involved in developing web-based educational materials. The following are the main online resources provided by Wilkes University through the Center for Environmental Quality.
 

Visit the Main C-SAW Partners Website

Private Well Owners or Water System Owners:

Private Well Owner - Watershed Survey

Drinking Water Help Guides 

Watershed Monitoring, Research, Training,
Lake and Watershed Studies, Volunteer Monitoring Programs

The Water Library - Pdf files on Water Issues and Topics

Get Trained: Field Training and Workshops in Earth Sciences

Thank You for Visiting !

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Written by Mr. Brian Oram, PG

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Convert Total PO4 to Total P
Note: Total PO4 (mg/l as PO4) x 0.3262 = Total P
At wt of P=30.97; of O=15.99
[TPO4] = [TP] (94.93/30.97)

Miscellaneous Water Quality Calculations and Conversions
Temperature Conversion
note: equivalent change change in C x 1.8 = change in F

Enter a number in either temperature field, then click outside it's box.
 

Convert Total P to Total PO4
Note: Total P (mg/l as P) x 3.065 = Total PO4
At wt of P=30.97; of O=15.99
[TPO4] = [TP] (94.93/30.97)
 

Convert Total PO4 to Total P
Note: Total PO4 (mg/l as PO4) x 0.3262 = Total P
At wt of P=30.97; of O=15.99
[TPO4] = [TP] (94.93/30.97)
 

Calculate Loading Based on Stream Flow (cubic feet per sec)
Note: mg/l x ft3/s x 2.446 = kg/day; kg/day x 2.205 = lbs/day;
2,000 lbs = one ton
 

More Conversion Factors

Water Quality Index Calculator
Conversion Factors Calculator
 

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Written by Mr. Brian Oram, PG

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Watershed Assistance, Watershed Management, Watershed Planning Assistance Pennsylvania
 

Watershed, Lake / Pond Management, and Stream Ecology
 

Water Quality and Pathogenic Disease Laboratories
The Drinking Water Testing Laboratory and Resource Center

Watershed Education - Watershed Investigations
 

Alkalinity, Ammonia, Bacteria, Chlorides, Conductivity
Dissolved Oxygen, E. Coli, Fecal Bacteria
Macroinvertebrates, Chlorophyll a, Microcystin Analysis, Metals, Nitrates, Odor, pH, 
Phosphates, Temperature, Turbidity

Calculate A Water Quality Index
Conversion Factors Calculator (Pressure, Flow, Length, Volume, etc)
Water Quality Conversion Calculator

Groundwater Education - Environmental Restoration

Citizen Monitoring Programs
 

Education Outreach/ Training
Stream Flow Measurements, Water Budgets, Hydrological Cycle

Field Training in Applied Environmental Sciences
(Soils, Geology, and Hydrology)

Consortium for Scientific Assistance
to Watersheds Groups and Other Organizations
(C-SAW Program) - Free Training Assistance, Grant Assistance

Septic System Maintenance/Operation

PA Perspective on On-lot Disposal (Not Hosted at Water-Research.net)

Homeowner, Private Well Owner Outreach Program
 

Mr. Brian Oram is a licensed professional geologist and soil scientist with over 20 years experience in applied earth and environmental sciences.  Mr. Oram has conducted research and consulting projects related to acid mine drainage ( AMD ), mine drainage, lake and stream monitoring programs, wetland creation and monitoring, filtration plant performance evaluations, testing new point of use water treatment devices and systems, hydrogeological evaluations, geological investigations, soils testing, soil morphological evaluations, water well drilling and construction, drinking water testing, mail order water testing kit program, and land reclamation. Mr. Oram has also been involved with Citizen Monitoring and other Environmental Training Programs for groups within the United States, Europe, and even the former Soviet Union.

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Written by Mr. Brian Oram, PG

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Hydrologic Budget
 

What is a Hydrologic Budget?

The hydrologic budget consists of inflows, outflows, and storage as shown in the following equation:
 

Inflow = Outflow +/- Changes in Storage
 

Inflows add water to the different parts of the hydrologic system, while outflows remove water. Storage is the retention of water by parts of the system. Because water movement is cyclical, an inflow for one part of the system is an outflow for another.
 

Precipitation = Evapotranspiration + Total Runoff, where
Total Runoff = Direct Runoff + Base flow (groundwater component of stream flow)
 

Looking at an aquifer as an example, percolation of water into the ground is an inflow to the aquifer. Discharge of groundwater from the aquifer to a stream is an outflow (also an inflow for the stream). Over time, if inflows to the aquifer are greater than its outflows, the amount of water stored in the aquifer will increase. Conversely, if the inflows to the aquifer are less than the outflows, the amount of water stored decreases. Inflows and outflows can occur naturally or result from human activity.

The earth's water supply remains constant, but man is capable of altering the cycle of that fixed supply. Population increases, rising living standards, and industrial and economic growth have placed greater demands on our natural environment. Our activities can create an imbalance in the hydrologic equation and can affect the quantity and quality of natural water resources available to current and future generations.

Water use by households, industries, and farms have increased. People demand clean water at reasonable costs, yet the amount of fresh water is limited and the easily accessible sources have been developed. As the population increases, so will our need to withdraw more water from rivers, lakes and aquifers, threatening local resources and future water supplies. A larger population will not only use more water but will discharge more wastewater. Domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastes, including the intensive use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, often overload water supplies with hazardous chemicals and bacteria. Also, poor irrigation practices raise soil salinity and evaporation rates. These factors contribute to a reduction in the availability of potable water, putting even greater pressure on existing water resources.

Large cities and urban sprawl particularly affect local climate and hydrology. Urbanization is accompanied by accelerated drainage of water through road drains and city sewer systems, which even increases the magnitude of urban flood events. This alters the rates of infiltration, evaporation, and transpiration that would otherwise occur in a natural setting. The replenishing of ground water aquifers does not occur or occurs at a slower rate.

Together, these various effects determine the amount of water in the system and can result in extremely negative consequences for river watersheds, lake levels, aquifers, and the environment as a whole. Therefore, it is vital to learn about and protect our water resources.

Data Sources:
Precipitation and Temperature

Pennsylvania Precipitation Data/Maps
US Geological Survey, Water Resources of Pennsylvania
SRBC Streamflow Information

Calculate Evapotranspiration Rate

DAILYET a computer program to calculate evapotranspiration
Spreadsheet Method for ET Calculation
Soil Water Budget
 

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