Library



		TC/TCWA

	The Library



	Publications and Internet Links on Water Quality, Sustainability and the Environment

TC/TCWA Publications

PMSD Wetlands Curriculum

What You Can Do to Protect Lakes and Streams

Do's and Don'ts: Best Practices for Preserving Water Quality

Care and Maintenance of Septic Systems

Protecting Our Drinking Water

1995 - 1996 Water Quality Report


	County Cooperative Extension Service Publications Septic Tank Pumping - (F-161) Preventing On-Lot Septic System Failures - (F-162) Soil Media and the Percolation Test - (F-163) Mound System for Waste Water - (F-164) Septic Tank Soil Absorption System - (F-165) The Monroe County Extension Office has a website here. Or you can phone them at (570) 421-6430. Penn State College of Agriculture Publications The Pennsylvania State University's College of Agriculture lists many similar publications in it's online catalog. There is an index and search engine for finding articles of interest. Subjects included are agricultural, waste treatment, water quality and many others.

		Links to Other Sites of Interest


	Our list of Internet links will be growing. Check back frequently for new additions.

The Nature Conservancy is the world's leading private, non-profit conservation organization. In all 50 states and around the world, the Conservancy protects land the old-fashioned way, by buying it. The Nature Conservancy plays a vital role in protecting our watershed. The Long Pond barrens and surrounding wetlands are one of the Conservancy's Last Great Places: globally unique and endangered areas of extraordinary ecological importance. Visit their website and join the organization.

The Environmental Protection Agency has an extensive website that, like most government sites, requires persistence and stamina from visitors. One page of local interest has information about the Pocono Habitat Demonstration Project.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's website has a wealth of information about its programs and activities. The caveat about government websites applies here as well.

In December 1993, students at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, presented the conclusions of a visionary study titled Alternative Futures for Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Known locally as ``The Harvard Study," it's the best available summary of the challenges we face if we want to maintain the character and quality of the region.

``Monroe County faces a crisis involving changes in its valued way of life. It can be summarized in three key issues: demographics, development decision making, and conservation. The following analyses make these evident.

Monroe County is now the second fastest growing region in Pennsylvania. According to the Commonwealth's Department of Environmental Resources 1991 population projection, it is estimated that an additional 90,000 people are expected to locate here by the year 2020. This would almost double the current population. Without careful planning, the new urban development may permanently destroy the same qualities that attracted current and new residents to Monroe County in the first place. Given the predicted increase in the population, and many more commuter-oriented residents, there will need to be new and larger scales of planning for investments in the County's transportation systems and waste water treatment. Without such changes and investments, there will be a decline in the levels of service expected by present and by future residents."

Introduction, Alternative Futures for Monroe County, Pennsylvania

Click here to go to ``The Harvard Study" cover page (lengthy image download)

Click here to go directly to the Table of Contents

A response to the crisis identified in the Harvard Study, Monroe 2020 is the umbrella name for a group of localized citizen task forces that are exploring the problem of uncontrolled growth in Monroe County

The Izaak Walton League is one of the nation's oldest conservation organizations. The League's Sustainability Project is an attempt to help bring human population growth, economic development and natural resource consumption into balance with the limits of nature.

Center for Environmental Quality at Wilkes University operates and maintains a series of state-of-the-art water quality testing laboratories. The facility, a non-profit/ equal opportunity employer, is operated and managed, within the GeoEnvironmental Sciences and Engineering Department under the auspices of the Center for Environmental Quality. Currently, the laboratory is PADEP/EPA approved for drinking water analysis for regulated water supplies for microbiological agents, but has the capability to conduct analysis for macronutrients, general water quality parameters, and toxic metals.

From the Rio Grande in Texas to the Danube in Hungary, River Watch Network harnesses the power of people and communities to monitor, restore, and protect the world's rivers.

The Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) promotes watershed protection through education. They sell tools for students and teachers, including manuals, videotapes and water monitoring equipment. GREEN's links page is particularly good.

The Olin Project for Environmental Science "Water Quality" Project. This page has a good summary of the key determinants of water quality and why they're important..

The White Clay Watershed Association in southeastern Pennsylvania conducts annual macroinvertebrate sampling. The character and quantity of the tiny creatures they find are indicators of the health of their watershed.

Biological monitoring is an essential tool for assessing the quality of lakes and streams. This link is a thorough, if somewhat technical, overview of a highly complex subject

Yahoo, the huge Internet search engine has a substantial listing of links about water quality. Happy surfing.