Facts vs. Fantasies

Unlike Bowmans Creek, the e-mails have been flowing fast & furious. Yesterday, one writer claimed there was a fish kill on Bowmans Creek. Another claimed that Governor Rendell placed a ban on all water withdrawals in PA except for the Susquehanna River. Neither have been substantiated as of this morning.

If you want to help the cause, please provide facts. Provide pictures. Link back to the source of the information. I won't post information on this blog from third parties that I cannot verify to my satisfaction. I've worked too long over the past decade+ to achieve some level of credibility with my network of contacts to throw it all away with one egregiously erroneous post.

Want help getting the news out quickly? Get it right ( & complete ) the first time. Thanks.

BTW, for those who have not lived around corn fields during a drought...this is what dry looks like.

Photo courtesy of DK Natt

Even Bugs Deserve Clean Water

Several years ago, I remember reading something that went like "...all life on Earth depends on a thin layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."

The first time I noticed the "other" visitors to our bird baths was during a prolonged dry spell in the late 1990's similar to what we are going through right now in eastern Pennsylvania. I was pouring water from our dehumidifier into the birdbath when I had a couple of close fly-bys by some type of wasps. I watched them circle the basin until I was done pouring, and within a matter of seconds, they landed on the edge and began to drink. In less than a few minutes, I guess the word was out because dozens of wasps began to show up.

Fast forward to 2010. My chore for today was power washing the north side of our house which always needs a cleaning every two or three years to clear off the mold & mildew. I got started at about 10 a.m., and was 3/4 through the job when I decided to take a break for lunch. When I went back to turn the water off, I noticed some wasps flying around a small birdbath near our deck. I grabbed the camera and took a few pics until it became obvious I was getting a little too close.

I noticed the newly-hydrated wasps headed out in a direction behind me, but didn't think much beyond staying out of their way. As I discovered a few minutes later, I should have paid closer attention to their flight path. 

After lunch, I cranked up the power-washer and got up about 15 feet on the ladder to blast the mildew off the second story shutters when I soon discovered where the wasps had congregated. A few close strafing runs caught my immediate attention, and when I looked at the edge of the shutter and saw dozens of wasps crawling out and heading toward the source of all the ruckus ( me ), I knew it was time to head south as quickly as possible. I dropped the power washer when the first sting arrived, and was about to do my best fireman's slide when I got the full brunt of their fury. I knew in the scheme of things that the stings really weren't going to do much damage or hurt that much, but I still made it down the ladder in a personal best time and kept moving away until they declared victory and went back to the safety of the shutter. About a dozen stings later, suffice it to say the rest of the right upper level of our house will be power washed sometime in November

 

When I was all done with chore #1, I decided to water the outdoor plants and fill the birdbath along the front walkway.  Wouldn't you know it, I started to get company again once the water started splashing into the bowl. This time, I stepped back when I was done and decided to see where the wasps seemed to be coming from. It only took a minute or two to discover that a fold in our PSU flag was serving as a condo for the next generation of stinging bugs on our property.

As I began my post, so I will finish...sort of. 

All life on Earth needs (and deserves) clean water to survive. Even the ornery/flying/stinging critters.   

Let Freedom Ring

I spent July 3rd on an extended road trip throughout northeastern PA. My first planned stop was at the Battle of Wyoming's Commemorative Service (132nd) at The Wyoming Monument in Wyoming, Pennsylvania. There is a nice write-up in today's Times Leader, so I'll keep my comments to a minimum. I was slightly misquoted, and there are a few other miscues, but these things happen.

Anyway, from my perspective, as well-attended as this event seems to be every year, and as hard as everyone works putting it together, I believe the crowds should overflow onto Wyoming Avenue and there should be far more fanfare for what was truly a defining moment in the history of the early settlement of the region and - equally important - the early years of the American Revolution. 'Nuff said.

I did pick up a copy of a book written by a local author, and I know what I'll be doing on my daily commute to work over the next few days.

I left the event early to pick up my Dad and get him to "Mousey's" ( South Street & Park Ave. ) for a haircut. My Dad and I have been going there for 30+ years, and whatever the topic; sports, politics, baseball, football...you name it, Phil is always ready to engage in conversation while he deftly snips away. In addition to a great haircut at a very reasonable price, if you want some engaging discourse from a tonsorial maestro with a sharp instrument in his hands, check out Phil's Barber Shop. Cautionary: If you wanna discuss politics or baseball, definitely bring your "A" game.

P.S. - Don't mention my name while he's shaving your neck.  

Once Dad was delivered back to his place, I headed north to see Tunkhannock Creek and Bowmans Creek firsthand. As you can see, with the lack of rain, recent high temperatures and ( in my opinion and that of many others ) continued water withdrawals by natural gas drilling companies, the streams are slowly drying up. Note: if you didn't catch it in a prior post, there is no USGS Station on Bowmans Creek and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission uses the flow on Tunkannock Creek to monitor withdrawals from Bowmans. That is Mistake #1.

They may be close geographically, but they are two totally separate and distinct ecosystems. 

If you want a visual of what this level looks like on Bowmans Creek on 7/3/2010...here you go.

Above - looking upstream.  Below - looking downstream from the Rte. 29 bridge.

My friends, this is getting critical. While this stream continues to shrink, the SRBC continues to allow Cabot Energy - the modern day environmental equivalent of Jack the Ripper - to take water from Bowmans Creek because their "guidelines" allow it.

I then decided to try to find the next/closest withdrawal site on Bowman's Creek, which I figured was a mile or so down Rte 29 toward Tunkhannock. It was easy to find, and I'll let the pics of the site tell the rest of the story. As you'll see, they've temporarily disconnected the hoses, and no withdrawals were taking place on July 3rd.

Above: Required signage.       Below: Pic of withdrawal site from the bridge.

Above: Pic of pumping units without hoses.   Below: Pic of the stream right below pumps.

Above: Me in the creek exactly where they withdraw water. Look deep to you?

Below: Bowmans Creek just above the withdrawal site. Even deeper looking...( hint: sarcasm )

While I was there, two folks stopped and got out of their cars. One took a few pics of the stream, both upstream and down, and left without saying a word. The other walked slowly toward me and asked: "This where they're taking out the water?" When I pointed to the water tanker & pumps, he stared for a few seconds and started shaking his head. I'm paraphrasing from this pint, but he indicated he's been fishing this creek all of his life ( looked to be somewhere in his 40's ) and he can't remember seeing the creek this low this early in the year. He also offered that he'd just been downstream at one of his favorite fishing spots, and he was stunned to see hundreds of fish ( claimed mostly trout ) congregated in the the pool. He said he didn't have the heart to fish there, and finished with something like "just doesn't seem right" before he turned and walked away, still shaking his head.

This issue has received a lot of press the last few days. The SRBC claims the withdrawals that are still being taken further downstream as you read this are "within guidelines." You see, the SRBC has this formula "that looks at the lowest seven-day flow rate over the past 10 years, the SRBC has determined by geographical location the volume of water it will allow a potential supplier trying to serve the hydrofracturing appetites of gas drillers."

I wonder if the trout hanging out in the pools downstream are aware of this formula? I wonder if their appetites for clean, cold, well-oxygenated water matters...to anyone?

Bl*nk their bl*nking guidelines. We need to stop this.

The waters in Tunkannock Creek and Bowmans Creek are flowing below half of their normal volume this time of year based upon 96 years of data. And yes, I know what median means. The SRBC says "Nothing to Worry About" because of their Q7-10 formula or something similarly created by bureaucrats to try to obfuscate explain natural cycles and justify nature's continued exploitation for profit.

My friends, these pictures and these charts do not lie and anything more from me would be superfluous. This stream is in dire straits and needs our help. We must be its voice.

Between now and Tuesday morning, please consider joining me to not only save a stream, but to send a very powerful message to the SRBC and all who are watching this issue. 

Here's what I am going to send:

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srbc@srbc.net

Dear SRBC:

Based upon its current and critically-diminished streamflow, I demand that all water withdrawals on Bowmans Creek be shut down; effective immediately. I further demand that all approved withdrawal permits on Bowmans Creek in northeastern PA be revised to follow the readings at USGS Station 01534000 and the minimum streamflow limits set forth in SRBC Docket #20100310.

http://srs444.blogspot.com/2010/07/reflections-on-freedom.html


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Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Let Freedom Ring!

The Vampires of Vyoming County

I've been up and blogging since 3 a.m., and am just about out of time before I head off to yerk work.

It is extremely disturbing to see our pristine streams of northeastern PA, some of them coldwater fisheries, being sucked dry by the insatiable appetite of the drilling companies to support hydraulic fracturing. The pictures and graphs above don't lie folks...this is a critical situation and we need to raise this to the highest level of visibility possible as soon as possible.  

If you want a first-hand account of what's happening on Bowmans Creek, please read the following (verbatim) account from a well-respected local journalist I received yesterday:

"I stopped at Cabot's withdrawal site on Bowman's Creek and there were two tankers filling up there. They were marked "residual waste," which I thought was odd. The water meter SRBC requires didn't seem to be working. I stopped by the site later and there were MORE tankers there: one being filled and one waiting. Apparently that had been going on all day long.

It seems Cabot has a permit that lets them withdraw from the site no matter what creek conditions are...",

Write today and register your outrage with: srbc@srbc.net

Also, please forward a link to my blog to anyone you think might help. 

Thanks.

Don

Major Story Developing

I'm awaiting pics. Will probably update this evening.

With so much money at stake...you think these folks are gonna follow the rules?

River advocates never sleep. There is no 9 to 5.

Later.