\n\tBy SHANNON O. WELLS<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong elements most associated with Pittsburgh \u2014 Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, a bevy of unique bridges, several universities, French fries on sandwiches \u2014 the scenically striking confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to form the mighty Ohio might be the city\u2019s key physical trademark.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs crucial as the three rivers are to the evolution and continued vitality to the city, however, when it comes their viability as far as fishing and human immersion, aka \u201cswimmability,\u201d well, it\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n
\n\tDespite great strides in reducing pollution sources since its 20th century industrial heyday, Greater Pittsburgh\u2019s commercial history, severe topography, and political and governmental complexities conspire to make maintaining recreational water quality a significant and ongoing challenge.<\/p>\n
\n\tDan Bain, associate professor of geology and environmental science in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, recently highlighted the topic of Pittsburgh river water quality in an article he contributed to the Pittsburgh Courier, \u201cShould you swim in Pittsburgh\u2019s rivers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe city, he wrote, has inherited hundreds of sewer overflow points throughout the three rivers via \u201chundreds of points in the sewer network, where heavy rain pushes a mixture of stormwater and raw sewage<\/a> directly into the water.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) has said overflows can occur with as little as a tenth of an inch of rain<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI would say it\u2019s the worst case,\u201d Bain said of Pittsburgh in an interview with the University Times. \u201cIt\u2019s a question of the sheer amount of infrastructure you have to overcome. That goes back to a political decision which we can\u2019t unmake.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cA lot of these different (sanitary sewer) overflows are overseen by different boroughs. It\u2019s not like you can have one person in charge of the sewer district say, \u2018OK, clean that up, clean that up, clean that up.\u2019 You have to go find the borough manager, convince the borough manager and hope that happens in the two to six years that borough manager continues to serve.<\/p>\n \n\tBoroughs, he explained, don\u2019t have a huge tax base. \u201cThey don\u2019t have a huge capital budget. So, I would say it\u2019s a worst case. I\u2019m sure people would argue that their local (river) is the worst case. Is there any other city that even has 100 (annual) overflows? Maybe Cincinnati.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn his Courier article, Bain, whose field work with the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory tracks changes in the city\u2019s streams and rivers over time, shared an anecdote from a TV news segment revealing Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard Gennings Dunker\u2019s ambivalent desire to swim and fish in local rivers.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI had to ask around if I could swim in the river. You\u2019re not supposed to do that,\u201d Dunker said with a grin in the TV segment. \u201cI might go fishin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBain went on to emphasize that Pennsylvania citizens\u2019 constitutional right to \u201cfishable, swimmable waterways<\/a>\u201d is a standard Pittsburgh\u2019s celebrated three rivers \u201chave not always met.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe technical designation for swimmable waters, he noted, is decided by regulators \u2014 primarily the Environmental Protection Agency and Pennsylvania\u2019s Department of Environmental Protection \u2014 who estimate contamination thresholds<\/a> above which swimming poses a meaningful health risk.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBelow those thresholds, a body of water is considered safe,\u201d Bain wrote, \u201cthough individuals still make their own calculations.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA Swim Guide<\/a> managed by Three Rivers Waterkeeper provides results of ongoing tests to determine harmful pollution levels \u2014 including bacteria from combined sewer overflows including E. coli and types of coliform, which can cause illness if ingested. Based on the EPA threshold for recreational water quality standards, if more than two colonies of bacteria are present, the water is labeled as unsafe for recreation at that time.\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n \tProgress and setbacks<\/p>\n \n\tBain doesn\u2019t hesitate to acknowledge how the water quality of area rivers has improved since the Pittsburgh region\u2019s steel manufacturing and coal processing heyday of the early and mid-20th century.<\/p>\n \n\tFifty years ago, a fish population survey<\/a> from Braddock Locks, one of nine water flow-regulating structures of the Monongahela River, resulted in but one solitary fish. A follow-up survey in 2010, however, netted more than 23,000 fish, including 32 different species.<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough fish populations<\/a> alone don\u2019t determine whether a river is safe for swimming, Bain called that recovery \u201csignificant.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to me, and it\u2019s one of the things you\u2019ve got to take home from this is how quickly it has gotten better,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s not to where it needs to be, but (in the lock survey) that amount of growth over 50 years means something good is happening. Something is going well.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe called changes in coal mining regulations and citizen action regarding \u201clegacy\u201d coal mining impacts \u201cbig victories\u201d for Western Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe still have some really big overflows that a group of 100 Trout Unlimited members can\u2019t solve with like pickaxes and shovels,\u201d he observed. \u201cThat was actually one of the things that was going to come with the BIL (Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill<\/a>) during the Biden administration. Actually, some of those got clawed back.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe were gearing up to take a big step about two years ago, three years ago now, and that\u2019s really sort of evaporated, which is not great.\u201d<\/p>\n \tInto the right hands<\/p>\n \n\tBain\u2019s passion for studying Pittsburgh area water quality centers on his involvement with the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tLaunched in 2017 with a group of faculty members, including Bain, the organization sought to \u201cbridge the gap\u201d between what was happening in research at Pitt and what the community and watershed groups needed \u201cto help accelerate the promotion of better water quality in our region,\u201d noted Megan Lange, the collaboratory\u2019s engagement programs manager.<\/p>\n \n\tWith its initial funding, the collaboratory held a series of meetings with watershed organizations, agencies, nonprofit organizations and industry representatives with the goal of asking, \u201c\u2018What research gaps do you see, and how can we as a University be a better partner for that?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cFrom there we identified a lot of research gaps and potential projects and started building relationships with regional water advocates in the region.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSince then, it\u2019s kind of become a bigger and better force of nature here at the University, where we are able to really expose students to these great community partners and be able to do research in tandem with them, but making sure the research that we provide is high quality (and) going into hands that truly need it and can advance their initiatives on their end.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition to Three Rivers Waterkeeper, the collaboratory includes local groups like Watersheds of South Pittsburgh<\/a> and Upstream Pittsburgh<\/a> along with agencies such as the Pennsylvania DEP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and various industry and consulting firms.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt really gives students a great opportunity to do hands-on research, but also that can benefit the greater community and amplify the water resources we have here,\u201d Lange said. \u201cOver the years, it\u2019s changed and evolved \u2026 and now we\u2019re an official center here at Pitt.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA goal of the collaboratory, she added, is to expand beyond its initial earth sciences scope into the \u201cmany disciplines that water touches\u201d across the University \u201cwhether that be social sciences, physical sciences, engineering, health.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to be a resource for people to come together and learn what each other are doing and making sure that the research that is happening is getting into the right hands.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\u2018Long march\u2019 continues<\/p>\n \n\tBased on the multiple sewer overflow points along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, Bain said the potential for exposure to raw sewage makes waterways in the ALCOSAN service area \u201cunswimmable\u201d for at least 48 hours after rainstorms.<\/p>\n \n\tSome better-known consequences of this phenomenon include the swimming segment of the Pittsburgh Triathalon being swapped for a bike leg, following an overflow in 2002. In 2016, the triathlon became a \u201cduathlon,\u201d with the swimming portion being canceled entirely.<\/p>\n \n\tEven during dry stretches, Pittsburgh\u2019s rivers \u201ccarry the legacy of their industrial past,\u201d Bain wrote in his article. Abandoned coal mines and slag piles \u2014 mountains of waste from steel, mining and coal operations \u2014 contribute dissolved materials<\/a> to southwestern Pennsylvania waters.<\/p>\n \n\tTheir risks to a swimmer, however, aren\u2019t well understood, he noted.<\/p>\n \n\tClearer direction is available regarding the consumption of fish from the three rivers. Pennsylvania issues specific advisories<\/a> on how much fish from a given stretch of river can be safely ingested. These advisories account for lingering contaminations after rain events, Bain noted.<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough ALCOSAN, through sewer infrastructure improvements, is working toward making overflows rare<\/a>, the planning horizon for these efforts stretches to 2046.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe original consent decree that Alcosan got was from 2008, so it\u2019s spanned many, many different administrations at this point to come to fruition,\u201d he told the University Times. \u201cThey\u2019re digging the first tunnels now, so it\u2019s decades in the planning.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDespite the current presidential administration\u2019s de-emphasis on environmental regulation, Bain expressed confidence that EPA mandates for cities to contain their antiquated, inadequate wastewater systems will continue going forward.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m not saying you couldn\u2019t stop all clean water regulation right now \u2026 but I\u2019m also saying that the EPA, God love them, tends to be particularly tenacious against state and local governments,\u201d he said, noting that more recent maneuvers to lessen Clean Water Act guidelines tend to exclude cities. \u201cSo, this long march towards cleaner water is not interrupted as of yet, and I don\u2019t expect it to because it\u2019s another way to punish the cities.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAt this point, I don\u2019t think a single administration would be able to turn that bus around, in theory,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it\u2019s been a long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share? Share<\/a> it with the University Times.<\/p>\n