Assessing the Water Quality Index of Lick Run, Centre County, Pennsylvania

Elaine Langone Center, Terrace Room

The purpose of this study was to examine historical and current water quality data in order to determine the impact of local geology and land-use on water quality in Lick Run; a perennial stream draining into the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir in Howard, Pennsylvania. The watershed's carbonate bedrock and near-surface iron ore bodies are the two greatest factors influencing the water quality in Lick Run. From May to September 2017, water samples were collected each month at six locations throughout the watershed, focusing on Lick Run and a major tributary to Lick Run. At each field location, the water was tested for pH, DO, temperature, and conductivity. In the laboratory, an additional sixteen parameters were tested. Each month, stream sediment samples were collected and prepared for analysis using an Olympus Delta Professional Handheld XRF. The dominant component of streambed sediment samples is iron, which is a testament to the historic iron mining in Little Nittany Valley. Once collected, the new data were compared to baseline water quality data gathered by the USGS in the mid-1970s. The data for this study is also comparable to the data collected by the Centre County Senior Environmental Corps. A weighted matrix of various parameters was used to determine water quality index for the Lick Run watershed. It was determined that the overall water quality index for the study area is 78.37 on a scale of 0 to 100. Based on the observed spatial and temporal variations in water quality, it was concluded that the relatively low water quality index can be attributed to the relatively high concentrations of nitrates, nitrites, and COD.