11-22-04
PA Sea Grant's NEMO Links Land Use to Water Quality
Because most of Pennsylvania has always had an unlimited supply of useable water, it's easy to forget that the quality of the water we drink is directly related to how we use our land. For that reason, Pennsylvania Sea Grant, headquartered at Penn State Behrend, has adopted Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO), an educational program for land-use decision makers that addresses the link between land use and water quality.
"NEMO offers educational and technical assistance to municipal officials that puts pollution prevention practices right into the decision making process," said Sean Rafferty, coastal outreach specialist with Pennsylvania Sea Grant. "We've been developing the Pennsylvania Lake Erie NEMO and presenting workshops for about a year now. As development increases in our watersheds, it's important to encourage officials in townships and boroughs to take an active role in reducing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution."
NPS pollution occurs mainly through stormwater runoff. When it rains, runoff from farmland, city streets, construction sites, and suburban lawns, roofs and driveways enters our waterways. This runoff often contains harmful substances such as contaminants, excess nutrients and sediments. NPS pollution effects seldom show up overnight; in fact, they often go unnoticed for years. This characteristic makes it all the more difficult to control.
There are four major forms of NPS pollution: sediments, nutrients, toxic substances and pathogens.
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Sediments are soil particles carried by rainwater into streams, lakes, rivers and bays. By volume, sediment is the greatest pollutant of all. It's caused mainly by erosion resulting from bare land, poor farming practices, and construction and development.
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Nutrients are substances which help plants and animals live and grow. NPS officials are most concerned about excessive amounts of two nutrients; nitrogen and phosphorus. Fertilizer and animal waste are the main sources of these substances.
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Toxic substances are chemicals which cause human and wildlife health problems. They include organic and inorganic chemicals and metals, pesticides, household chemicals, gasoline, motor oil, battery acid, roadway salt and so on.
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Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms present in human and animal waste. Most pathogens are bacteria.
One other form of NPS pollution, litter, also affects the quality of our water.
NEMO was first developed in Connecticut and in 1995 became a national initiative. Today there are thirty-three NEMO projects in thirty-two states and U.S. territories.
NEMO staff members are available to provide presentations and workshops to local officials on a variety of topics. NEMO staff can serve as a liaison to connect municipalities to key players in the field, and it can assist in the collection and development of maps, using GIS, and information needed to develop a natural resource inventory. NEMO can help municipalities locate funding sources to help implement the best management practices to protect the watershed. NEMO staff can also help local governments to fulfill the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II requirements.
The Pennsylvania Lake Erie NEMO program is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Growing Greener and Coastal Zone Management programs. For more information or to set up a workshop in your municipality, please call Sean Rafferty at 814-898-6358 or send him an e-mail at sdr138@psu.edu.
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