Pittsburgh Pool Reports

Water Quality Report

Study Goals
We can understand water quality in terms of the life that resides within it, as well as the chemical composition supporting that life. We can also understand water quality in terms of the limitations to human use (fishing, swimming etc.). This is typically defined by the pollutants which enter our waterways, such as lawn fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, and leaking sewage infrastructure. Water is constantly moving. With this in mind it is important to understand that physical chemical, and bacteriological water tests can indicate pollution at one moment then depending on flow and the source of contamination, indicate clean water the next. Biological field tests, such as benthic 4 organism surveys can tell us more about the consistency of pollution over time. 3 Rivers 2nd Nature has devised a relatively low-cost strategic water quality testing program*, which primarily employs three water quality testing methods:

physical chemistry -	temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity (physical characteristics of water which support aquatic life)
bacteriological testing -	tests for fecal coliform, and e coli (bacteria indicating the presence of fecal matter), and
benthic organism analysis -	finding/counting the bugs that live on the riverbed. (benthics indicate water quality conditions over a period of time)

* Laboratory tests are conducted by ALCOSAN 5 and the Allegheny County Health Department. The benthic organism survey is conducted by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

>Next: Rivers and Streams

Unabridged Water Quality Report PDF Format
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Cover Page (524k)
pt 1 Summary and Intro (47k)
pt 2 Materials and Methods (59k)
pt 3 Pathogens Indicators(125k)
pt 4 Allegheny River(193k)
pt 5 Monongahela River (156k)
pt 6 Ohio River(132k)
pt 7 Conclusions(80k)

Appendix
Appendix A - PA Water Quality Criteria, Physical and Chemical Parameters. (192k)
Appendix B - Fecal Coliform and E. coli data for Allegheny River. (20k)
Appendix C- Fecal Coliform and E. coli data for Monongehela River.(20k)
Appendix D - Fecal Coliform and E. coli data for Ohio River. (20k)
Appendix E- Tributary Watershed Analysis (428k)

4 Benthic organisms are bottom dwelling bugs which are the foundation of the aquatic food chain. The different types of small bottom dwelling (benthic) organisms that are found in water can tell us if the water is clean or contaminated. By looking at these organisms we can determine the relative health of a stream or river.
5 Allegheny County Sanitary Authority