Protecting Dingman's water

Sewage Enforcement Officer Chris Wood offers cautionary tale, and the promise of new technology

Published Mar 19, 2015 at 3:37 pm (Updated Mar 19, 2015)

By Anya Tikka DINGMAN TOWNSHIP Anything that happens upstream affects a whole lot of wildlife downstream.

Chris Wood, Dingman Townships Sewage/Zoning Enforcement Officer, reported on his attendance at the Pennsylvania Association of Sewage Enforcement Officers Conference at a recent township meeting.

Shellfish, including oyster beds, and rockfish have already disappeared in Chesapeake Bay, he said, offering a cautionary tale for Pike County's streams, which are designated by the state to be High Quality or Exceptional Value.

Chesapeake Bay is a mess, Wood said. There are a lot things controlling industrial and chemical waste. Of course, once you kill one species, you mess up the whole ecology. They are trying to bring back the bay.

He said its going to take many years to do, but Maryland has put together a series of laws of how to develop properties to achieve this. Nitrates are the most abundant runoff, mainly from farming. Although Pennsylvania is working with nitrates a little differently, its important to know about new developments, he added.

As far as Dingman Township and Pike County go, things are looking good.

We test all of our streams on a regular basis," he said. "Nitrates are extremely low in Dingman Township."

He said he believes its the same in most other townships around the area, based on what he sees on his rounds.

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Protecting Dingman's water