1. Exploring
Urban
Watersheds
2012

2. Exploring the Urban Watershed:
A two-week environmental summer program for rising 9th grade girls focused on scientific methodology and inquiry applied to source water assessment and protection in Philadelphia. After field trips to drinking water, wastewater and the central labs of the Philadelphia Water Department, they engaged in hands‐on fieldwork - sampling and analyzing the ecology of a local stream. Our goal was to expose participants to new and positive experiences in the sciences. The following is a digital scrapbook laying out their data.
\Should I say something about it being produced by the FWWIC? Should I leave the PWD logo or drop it? And I mention swep on the last slide should I mention funding here – will it be too much?

3. Urban Watersheds * What is a Watershed? * * What makes an urban
A watershed is the area of land around where water collects into a specific body of water *
* What makes an urban
watershed different?
- They are different because there is more impervious surface and water runs off into storm drains & sewers
Water
Water
Watershed
Watershed
Naomi

4. Sewage & Drinking Water
Everybody needs clean water!
Our drinking water goes through a long process. 50% of the drinking water comes from the Schuylkill and 50% from the Delaware River. Our water goes through a filtration process to get small particles out and is also disinfected.
My tour of the sewage plant was eye-opening because I saw what wasn’t really flushable, like feminine products and that soap isn't removed from the sewage after all the treatments!
Everybody produces sewage. Sewage comes from homes, stormwater run-off and factories among other places .
Sewage is treated through a multistep process . They physically and biologically treat the water.
Aleeyah

5. Threats to Watersheds: Stormwater & Invasive Species
Invasive species are known as “super successful reproducers”. They cause ecological and health damage and can negatively impact native species. Some examples of invasive species are Zebra Mussel, Rusty Crayfish and Japanese Knotweed.
Stormwater poses as one of the biggest threats to our waterways. When it rains in the city, rainwater washes all of the trash, animal feces, car oils, etc. that is left on the street into our sewers. This runoff has a chance of ending up in our rivers and streams. Unlike a natural watershed, more than half (55%) of all stormwater ends up in our sewers.
Roh

6. Watershed Study: Materials & Methods
Test Tubes
Secchi Disk/notched rope
Dip Net
LaMotte (pH) Kit
She also wrote up a whole word document that goes along with this, not sure what to do with that/this slide
Microscope
Thermometer
Plankton Net
Microscope Slides
Pipette
Jazmyn

7. Watershed Study: Data and Results
Overall, Cobbs Creek had the clearest water when compared visually to the Schuylkill River and Naylor’s Run. This may be because Cobbs Creek was a smaller stream order and had mostly gravel sediment where as the Schuylkill River had more silt at the sample locations that can become stirred up and affect turbidity. Naylor’s Run also had a gravel bottom but had the slowest moving water and its source was from a stormwater outfall that could have affected the clarity.
Larger animal life, such as cormorants, were recorded at the Schuylkill River than seen at both Cobbs Creek and Naylor’s Run. This could be because cormorant birds eat fish and the Schuylkill River has a larger supply of fish.
Naylor’s Run did not have a variety of macroinvertebrates while Cobbs Creek did have a variety of macroinvertebrates. A lack of biodiversity can indicate that there is pollution problem. Naylor’s Run is a stormwater outfall so stormwater runoff may negatively affect water quality.
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format
Melissa

8. Watershed Study: Data and Results
Sample Location Specifics
Location & Observation
Waterway:
Schuylkill River
Cobbs Creek
Naylor's Run
Sample Location:
East Above Dam
East Below Dam/Esplanade
West Below Dam/Fishway
Shade
Sun
GPS:
39° 58' 0" N ° 10' 55" W
39° 57' 0" N ° 10' 59" W
39° 58' 9" N 75° 11' 19" W
39° 55' 60" N ° 14' 20 "W
39° 56' 46" N 75° 14' 41" W
Start Time:
9:55 AM
10:30 AM
10:48 AM
11:50 AM
1:35 PM
12:15 PM
Weather:
Sunny, very hot out
Shady and cooler air
Sunny, hot
Extremely hot and sunny
Cloudy, cool air
Sunny, clear sky
Land Use:
Park
Highway
Storm water drain, park
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format

9. Watershed Study: Data and Results
Stream Reach (length)
Waterway:
Schuylkill River
Cobbs Creek
Naylor's Run
Sample Location:
East Above Dam
East Below Dam/Esplanade
West Below Dam/Fishway
Shade
Sun
Reach:
Reach (ft):
N/A
168 feet
41.5 feet
Flow
Medium/slow
Medium /fast
Medium /fast
Slow
Very Slows
Turbidity
Clear
A little cloudy, but mostly clear
Stream Order estimate: 7 3 1
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format

10. Watershed Study: Data and Results
Transect 1 - line that cuts across the Reach
Waterway:
Schuylkill River
Cobbs Creek
Naylor's Run
Transect 1 (T1) *Except Schuylkill
Habitat
Channel
Upstream end of Riffle
Riffle pH 7 8
T1 E Bank: T1 Channel: 7
T1 Bank: T1 Channel: 7.5
Prevalent Gravel Category
Silt & Bedrock
Gravel
Macros
N/A
Mayfly, Caddisfly Larva, Crayfish, a bunch of Threadworms
Mayfly Nymph, Tubifex Worm
Animal Life
Fish, Cormorant
Geese, Turtle, Cormorant
Crayfish, Cicadas, Fish, Flies, Butterflies
Cicadas, Fish, Flies
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format

11. Watershed Study: Data and Results
Transect 2 - line that cuts across the Reach
Waterway:
Schuylkill River
Cobbs Creek
Naylor's Run
Transect 2
Habitat
N/A
Riffle
Riffle, Pool pH
T2 E Bank: T2 Channel: 6.8
T2 Bank: T2 Channel: 8
Prevalent Gravel Category
Gravel
Macros
Cloeon Mendax, Cranefly Larva, Tubifex Worm, Isopod or Aquatic Sowbug, Mayfly Nymph
None
Animal Life
Crayfish, Cicadas, Fish, Flies, Butterflies
Cicadas, Fish, Flies
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format

12. Focusing on Careers
When we went to the Bureau of Laboratory Services we explored lots of careers and met scientists.
Chemist: Are people that study chemistry substances like H2O & 02 (water & oxygen) and do experiments understand what something is made of
Microbiologist: Are people that analyze the structure and processes of microorganisms especially cellular tissue.
Aquatic Biologist: Work with living organisms in bodies of water and study the environmental impact of industry and human expansions.
Needs a better title
not sure about the readability of the main text
Kadeeja

13. Acknowledgements
We would like to thank The Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center for allowing us to use their beautiful laboratory.
We would like to thank the Bureau of Laboratory Services (PWD), especially Laura Eyring, Anne Harvey, Marla Schechs and Yaeisha Slack.
We would like to thank Philadelphia Futures, Charmayne Thompson, for sharing her resources about college preparations.
We appreciate Gerald Bright, Environmental Program Scientist PWD, for taking the time to speak to us about stormwater and giving a site tour of an infrastructure project.
We thank Anne Faulds, NOAA Sea Grant, for giving her time to educate us on invasive species in the area.
The project was funded in part by a grant from the Society of Women Environmental Professionals, thank you for your generosity.
- Not sure how to incorporate all the data we have in a non cluttered format