New regulations drafted to protect public drinking water sources have been implemented by Potter County officials, according to information reported at this month’s Triple Divide Watershed Coalition meeting. The rules incorporated in the Potter County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance require anyone who is planning a land development within a designated water recharge zone to notify system operators and gain their consent.
Also at this month’s meeting, Potter County Planning Director Will Hunt reported that he has conferred with the U.S. Geological Survey on the groundwater mapping project planned in Potter County later this year. Due to limited funding, USGS will scale down the number of water wells to be analyzed and adjusted its sampling matrix. There now will be about 50 wells tested to create a profile of the county’s groundwater resources. Sampling should begin this summer.
TDWC members also reviewed proposals from companies interested in providing 24/7 monitors on the 16 wells, springs and surface sources used by public water suppliers in Potter County. Campbell Scientific was selected from among three bidders, pending a meeting with company representatives to clarify specifics.
In other business, TDWC:
- elected Charlie Tuttle of the Potter County Planning/GIS as chair, succeeding John McLaughlin.
- introduced the new newsletter, TDWC Currents, designed to keep members up to date in developments with the coalition and related topics.
- welcomed Mark Accettulla, sanitarian with the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection. Accettulla’s region consists of Potter and Tioga counties.
- reviewed a water system contact spreadsheet created by Jim Clark, water specialist/educator with Penn State Extension.
- heard from McLaughlin and Hunt that a mapping project to inventory public water system infrastructure is expected to begin this summer.
Attending were John McLaughlin, Jim Clark, Will Hunt, Charlie Tuttle, Mark Accettulla, Darrell Davis and Dale Steadman (Genesee Water), Commissioners Doug Morley and Paul Heimel, Gareth Gockley (Coudersport Water), Tony Adami (Galeton Water), Danielle Roslevich from Pa. Rural Water Assn., Tina Bennett (Gaines Township Water), Bev Morris (Coudersport Borough), Jason Childs and Jared Dickerson from Potter County Conservation District, and Fern Burdick (Northern Tier Children’s Home).
