The Newly Launched Pipewatch Program
Riverkeeper is pleased to announce the creation of yet another program to help clean up our waterways!
Have you ever been paddling in, or walking along, a waterway and noticed pipes along the banks that seem to be draining directly into the water? Those outfalls are point sources of pollution and it is imperative that we locate them and find out what is being dumped into our streams.
The Pipewatch Program aims to locate, inspect, and monitor all of the outfalls in the Niagara River Watershed. We are in the first stage of the program where we need to locate all of the outfalls. Once the outfalls have been located we will begin to test the water that is being discharged in order to determine their potential for harming our waterways.
Our dedicated volunteers began paddling our waterways in early June and we have already begun to receive information about the outfalls. As outfalls are discovered and inspected, we will be mapping them so that you can see their locations. This link will take you to our googlemaps page < http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=111647279894937938118.000451841c66d5cfe5511>. Each “balloon” represents one outfall and clicking on the “balloon” will allow you to view a photograph of the outfall.
While our volunteers have been working diligently since the program began, we are still looking to recruit new volunteers. There are thousands of miles of streams in the watershed and the more volunteers we have out there, the faster we will be able to identify the points of potential pollution. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Robbyn Drake at rdrake@bnriverkeeper.org or by calling (716)852-7483. New volunteers will need to take a short introductory course to familiarize themselves with the program.
Labels: creek, Niagara, outfall, pipewatch, pollution, river, Riverkeeper, stream, volunteer, water
posted by Katherine Winkler @ 10:32 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Three cheers to Riverwatch captain Lynn Kahn, who has already documented nearly every outfall on Cayuga and Bergholtz Creeks in Niagara County!!
Will there be central information center for the out falls. I pass dozens along Ellicott Creek but we keep reporting the same ones you will have thousands of reported outfalls representing dozens.
Each Pipewatch volunteer is assigned a stretch of waterway along which to document all outfalls, according to the volunteer's availability and what remains to be completed. After we document all major stretches in the region, we will begin regular monitoring. We could use someone on Ellicott Creek, so let me know if you're interested!
When will the drain inlets be mapped as well?
Back in the 1950s when Cayuga Drive School in Niagara Falls was in existance, the school sewer emptied directly into Cayuga Creek. Also, Culbert's Hotel sewer emptied into the Creek. There were also numerous homes along Point Avenue whose sewers emptied into the Little River.
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