Source water protection vision:
Engage communities of both place and interest to preserve, protect, and improve water quality through shared goals and actions in order to provide an ample, clean, and affordable water supply.
Our vision and source water protection action plan is developed, implemented and revised by a collaboration of diverse partners. See the table below for more information on each of the organizations working in our source water collaborative.
| Source Water Protection Area | Organization | Activity Type | Website |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland County Conservation District | Water quality, Land conservation and management | https://westmorelandconservation.org/ |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland Cleanways | Recycling and clean up | https://www.westmorelandcleanways.org/ |
| Beaver Run | Sustainable Monroeville | Environmental Activism | https://sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com/ |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland County Planning and Development | County government | https://www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/681/Planning-Division |
| Beaver Run | Indiana University of Pennsylvania | University | https://iup.edu/ |
| Beaver Run | Protect Penn Trafford | Environmental Activism | https://www.protectpt.org/ |
| Beaver Run | Rock Run Enterprises | Consultant | https://www.rockrunenterprises.com/ |
| Beaver Run | APEX Emergency | Industry | https://apexcos.com/industries/oil-gas |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group | Environmental Activism | https://westmorelandmarcellus.blogspot.com/ |
| Beaver Run | CNX | Industry | https://www.cnx.com/ |
| Beaver Run | St. Vincent Collage | Educational Institution | https://www.stvincent.edu/ |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland County Emergency Management | Emergency Response | https://www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/787/Public-Safety |
| Beaver Run | Purple Martin Conservation Association | Conservation | https://www.purplemartin.org/ |
| Beaver Run | Westmoreland County Heritage Trail | Outdoor recreation | https://www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/1010/Westmoreland-Heritage-Trail |
| Beaver Run | Kiskiminetas Watershed Association | Watershed Association | https://kiskiwatershed.blogspot.com/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service | Conservation | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/pa/home/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Penn State Cooperative Extension | Land conservation and management | https://extension.psu.edu/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Mountain Watershed Association | Environmental Activism | https://www.mtwatershed.com/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | PA Department of Environmental Protection | Regulatory | https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Water/BureauSafeDrinkingWater/Pages/default.aspx |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | PA Fish and Boat Commission | Regulatory | https://www.fishandboat.com/Pages/default.aspx |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Southwestern PA Commission | Nongovernmental organization | https://spcwater.org/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Environmental Protection Agency Region 3 | Regulatory | https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-3-mid-atlantic |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) | Nongovernmental organization | http://www.orsanco.org/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | US Geological Society (USGS) | Geological | https://www.usgs.gov/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Penn State Cooperative Extension | Conservation | https://extension.psu.edu/ |
| Beaver Run and Youghiogheny | Department of Homeland Security | Regulatory | https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/U-S-Department-of-Homeland-Security |
| Youghiogheny | Fayette County Emergency Management | Emergency Response | www.fcema.org |
| Youghiogheny | PA American Water | Utility | https://amwater.com/paaw/ |
| Youghiogheny | Allegheny County Emergency Services | Emergency Response | https://www.alleghenycounty.us/emergency-services/index.aspx |
| Youghiogheny | North Fayette Municipal Authority | Utility | http://www.northfayettecountywater.org/ |
| Youghiogheny | Allegheny County Economic Development | County government | https://www.alleghenycounty.us/economic-development/index.aspx |
| Youghiogheny | Jacobs Creek Watershed | Watershed Association | https://www.jacobscreekwatershed.org/ |
| Youghiogheny | Fayette County Economic Development | County government | https://www.fayettecountypa.org/581/Economic-Development-Agencies |
| Youghiogheny | Indian Creek Valley Water Authority | Utility | https://www.icvwater.org/ |
| Youghiogheny | Allegheny County Conservation District | Land conservation and management | https://www.conservationsolutioncenter.org/ |
| Youghiogheny | Fayette County Conservation District | Land conservation and management | http://www.fayettecd.org/ |
What have we been doing?
We have updated our source water protection plans with updated goals and action plans. Our source water protection committees will be meeting twice per year to review and update these plans.
In order to mitigate the risks of accidental spills, we have created an incident report which details any spill which we learn about that has the potential to impact the source water, remediation actions, and any effects to the filtration plants. Read them here.
We have developed a proposed land use questionnaire for MAWC properties within our source water protection areas designed to help determine how proposed land uses may affect our drinking water. We plan to use these to develop land use best management practices within our source water protection areas.
Changes have been made to the Beaver Run water quality monitoring project. MAWC staff have assumed the responsibility for all of the water quality sampling in the Beaver Run Reservoir source water area that had been conducted by IUP from 2011 through the first quarter of 2022. With this change, MAWC hired a second source water supervisor to assist with the source water protection work across all of the source water protection areas. The sampling will still be conducted on the same frequency as was done by IUP. The sampling locations remain relatively the same with a few minor changes that resulted from MAWC’s professional geologist’s assessment of the sampling locations. The laboratory analyses will be performed by a subcontracted, third-party, state-certified laboratory. The results from IUP’s tenure will remain available on the website that they maintain: https://www.iup.edu/energy/research-initiatives/beaver-run-reservoir/, the results from sampling events from the third quarter of 2022 moving forward can be viewed at the following link for 3RQ: https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=781c704ba27d402a8871076a9de36a3c&extent=-90.5935,31.8292,-66.3356,43.1076. The data depicted inaccurately shows dissolved metals results; the metals analyses were completed for total metals. This data will be corrected shortly by 3RQ staff.
The quarterly field water quality monitoring results collected by MAWC around the active, unconventional gas well pads are depicted in the table below. If the monitoring results would indicate that an impact has occurred from a well pad, MAWC would collect samples for laboratory analysis to determine the potential source of the contamination.
