Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania (2005) / Chapter Skim
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1Executive Summary BACKGROUND The City of Pittsburgh is located in southwestern Pennsylvania where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River (see Figures ES-1 and ES-2)
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2 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania FIGURE ES-2 The Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers in Allegheny County in southwestern Pennsylvania; shaded areas include the 83 Allegheny County communities serviced by the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) , including the City of Pittsburgh.
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Executive Summary 3 action under the federal Clean Water Act for both combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs)
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4 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania BOX ES-1 Statement of Task The NRC will establish an expert committee to undertake an assessment of the wastewater and water quality problems of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and make recommendations on how these issues and needs of the region can be best addressed by the multiple jurisdictions on a cooperative basis. The study will address several key questions, including: 1.
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Executive Summary 5 systems may be important contributors. However, regional waters are not considered impaired for use as sources of drinking water because of the extensive treatment that is routinely performed on drinking water sources, particularly surface water sources.
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6 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania quality problems, including wet weather problems; such a systematic approach should recognize interrelationships among problems and the need for parties responsible for each water quality problem to share in its solution. The technical approach is embodied in what the committee calls the "Three Rivers Comprehensive Watershed Assessment and Response Plan," or CWARP.
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Executive Summary 7 information is lacking in several critical respects (e.g., how much surface water runoff from separate stormwater sewers affects water quality in receiving streams during wet weather events)
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8 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania There are no comprehensive estimates of the economic benefits of addressing the remaining water quality problems for southwestern Pennsylvania or from proposed projects to address the region's water quality problems. Nevertheless, the region would be expected to benefit economically from measures that significantly reduce drinking water risks and enhance recreational opportunities.
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Executive Summary 9 River Basin Some water quality problems -- particularly those related to long distance transport of pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, and persistent toxic chemicals -- transcend regional, state, and political boundaries. At the largest scale of river basins, water monitoring and management is the responsibility of federal agencies (particularly the EPA, U.S.
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10 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania Water management agencies Governmental/ community agencies, community members Environmental, watershed, academic community Business/ financial community ALCOSAN/ 3RWW ACCD SPC PEC Water Forum Coordinating Group FIGURE ES-3 Concept diagram for a Three Rivers Regional Water Forum. Coordination of the forum would be provided by a group that represents major nongovernmental organizations, local, state, and federal government stakeholders; and regional academic experts, among others.
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Executive Summary 11 B (establishment of county-wide management) to Options C, D, or E because it captures economies of scale in planning and management, facilitates the use of a systems approach, and keeps decision making closer to politically accountable public officials.
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12 Regional Cooperation for Water Quality Improvement in Southwestern Pennsylvania specific programs, such as development of county-based management programs for on-site septic systems and acid mine drainage control. x To the extent that assistance is not available, continuing studies are needed regarding the efficient application of current local taxes and user charges to cover start-up efforts identified above, with the goal of creating repayment mechanisms based on an equitable regional user charge system.
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Executive Summary 13 management strategies for water quality improvement and an integral part of the CWARP is to undertake coordinated basin-wide monitoring (including biological monitoring) and modeling to estimate the amounts and relative impacts of various sources of pollutants entering the region's surface and groundwater.
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