Streamwatch Project

WCC & Other Streams

To get a perspective of how WCC compares to other streams in southwestern Pennsylvania we compared 19 sites located in the Schuylkill watershed that have been sampled annually from 1996 to 2007. Land use in the Schuylkill watershed is comparable to WCC with a mixture of forested (40 vs. 51%), forested (41 vs. 22%), agriculture (40 vs. 51%), and urbanization (13 vs. 13%). In addition, both watersheds have a similar history in urban and suburban developments as the WCC watershed. Compared to the Schuylkill streams the WCC watershed had more Poor sites (44% vs. 26%) and fewer Fair sites (50% vs. 63%). A Poor rating signals a loss of diversity (e.g., ≤3 families of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera [EPT]) and a decrease in abundance of sensitive taxa (e.g., <15% of the total are EPT). Sites that rated Poor in the Schuylkill are highly disturbed (i.e., urbanized or receive acid drainage from anthracite coal mining). Move cursor over graph to see an enlarged view.

MAIS scores shown for Sites 11 and 12 on WCC and 7 Exceptional Value streams in the Schuylkill watershed. Asterisks indicate 12-year mean otherwise streams were sampled in 2008 or 2009. Samples were processed with a 1-mm sieve for WCC sites and 500-mm sieve for all other sites.

The East Branch of WCC has been classified as "Exceptional Value" (EV) by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from its source to the northern border of Avondale Borough, which encompasses our Study Sites 11 and 12. Exceptional Value is a designation indicating excellent water quality and providing protection from degradation. Only the best streams in the state receive this highest protection of water quality. Unfortunately, only Site 11, and not Site 12, appears to have a macroinvertebrate assemblage that is comparable to other EV streams in the region.

For more info on the Schuylkill watershed visit http://www.stroudcenter.org/schuylkill/index.htm