A Quarterly Publication of the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities

Transcription

1 Vol. 3, No. 4 A Quarterly Publication of the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream Staff Katherine Atteberry, Coordinator attebeka@co.gwinnett.ga.us Michael O Shield, Coordinator oshielmi@co.gwinnett.ga.us Kristy Etris, Environmental Intern Winter 2000 Welcome Katherine Atteberry Many of you know how busy we have been over the past year due to the tremendous amount of people participating in our program and becoming more involved with water. To keep up with our growth, the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities decided to hire an additional Adopt-A-Stream Coordinator. We were lucky enough that Katherine Atteberry decided that she would become a part of the Adopt-A- Stream family. Many of you have met Katherine over the past year while she interned with us during her senior year at the University of Georgia. At UGA she majored in Environmental Health - Science, was a DJ at 90.5 FM, and worked with the student programming board. We are all very happy that she is aboard and working to bring water quality education to the people of Katherine teaching at a local school Gwinnett. We ve Moved! During late August and early September, the majority of the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities, along with the Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream program, has moved to the new Central Facility. All of our equipment and Adopt-A-Stream staff is now housed in one place. This allows us to be more efficient and ready to meet your Adopt-A-Stream needs. Our new address, phone and fax numbers are: Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities Adopt-A-Stream 684 Winder Highway Lawrenceville, Georgia Telephone: Fax: The Department of Public Utilities new Central Facility If you would like to visit, just give us a call. We would love to hear from you.

2 SET SAIL ON THE CHOTA PRINCESS By Kristi Rose, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Thanks to a generous grant from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Riverkeeper in partnership with Elachee Nature Center and the Lake Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, initiated its latest educational endeavor, the Lake Lanier Aquatic Learning Center (LLALC). Created as the first watershed educational center located on Lake Lanier, the center provides a unique learning opportunity to further examine and understand water quality in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. This past spring, a 40 foot pontoon boat was custom ordered by Riverkeeper s boat captain, Harlan Trammell and christened the Chota Princess. On March 20, the Chota Princess set sail with her first group of middle school students from Gwinnett County. Aboard the Chota Princess, participants conduct hands-on water tests focused on Lake Ecology. Students gain exposure to state-of-the-art equipment used in gathering water quality data such as dissolved oxygen and ph meters, microscopes, and an underwater video camera. By testing the water for several chemical parameters, students begin to comprehend how clean our freshwater resources are in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. By fall 2000, an indoor instructional wet laboratory will be constructed inside the Lake Lanier Canoe and Kayak facility. This lab will be instrumental in involving older students in biological and chemical monitoring, data analysis, and additional water ecology concepts. LLALC is open to public and private schools throughout Georgia and programs can be altered to best fit specific classroom needs. The program usually runs 1 1/2 to 2 hours and larger groups can be split in half to spend time at the Elachee Nature Science Center in addition to the floating classroom program. Programs are currently being scheduled for the winter, so book your sail on the Chota Princess now! For more information, call Peter Gordon at or Kristi Rose at extension 17. Gwinnett Arbor Day 2001 is Coming Last February, Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream decided to get involved with Arbor Day since trees are a very important factor in maintaining water quality. On February 19, 2000 over 150 volunteers got together and planted thousands of trees at Mason Elementary in Duluth. Due to the tremendous success of Arbor Day 2000, Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream has decided to make our tribute to Arbor Day an annual event. For Gwinnett Arbor Day 2001, we will team up with Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation and hold the activities at Dacula Park on Saturday, February 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed to plant the thousands of native seedlings that will be brought in that day. Refreshments will be served from 11:30 to 12:30 and you can bring your own planting equipment or you can use ours. Please contact us at if you would like more information or would like to sign up as a volunteer. The following websites provide information on Arbor Day and trees: The National Arbor Day Foundation - Georgia Forestry Commission - University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Services - Tree Notes - Volunteers planting trees at Gwinnett Arbor Day 2000

3 NPDES Storm Water Update In compliance with Gwinnett County s NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Storm Water Permit we will from now on be providing quarterly updates on the County s storm water management activities. We want to keep you informed of our progress and the efforts we are taking to protect Gwinnett s waterways. So keep an eye out for this update in future newsletters. For more information regarding this permit or storm water management activities please contact Steve Leo at (678) We recently purchased Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to allow us to inventory and accurately map our storm sewer system. This equipment has vastly increased productivity and significantly reduced data entry errors. The County recently trained City and County employees on how to complete storm water inspections of all municipal facilities. The June 2000 permit revision required these inspections be completed to ensure compliance with the County s Storm Water Management Ordinance. Changes are being made to the Development Regulations to include recommendations from the recently completed Watershed Assessment. These regulations are scheduled to go into effect on January 1, Public education continues as a focus. Educational flyers are distributed with utility bills on a quarterly basis. The stenciling program continues to be a success. To date, 19,402 door hangers have been distributed and 3,435 catch basins have been stenciled. A pilot program Beautiful Lawns and Healthy Streams was launched in September. One of Public Utilities Storm Water Management staff taking a water sample downstream from a storm water outfall. TOP 10 REASONS Our Intern Program is Good For You: 10. Learn about your environment and have fun at the same time while getting paid and maybe get some course credits. 9. Ride in the majestic Adopt-A-Stream Boats. 8. Besides getting paid, it s a great resume builder. 7. Find out where goldfish go when they are buried at sea. 6. Help protect our most precious natural resource water. 5. Everybody is doing it. C mon, it will make you look cool. 4. Work with other organizations for a common goal 3. Impress you friends with words like effluent, potable, and Xeriscape. 2. It s a great way to show community spirit (and meet new people). 1. Because we want to share our knowledge with the future YOU! The Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities is looking for interns/co-ops for Storm Water Management and Adopt-A- Stream. If you are a college student and would like more information, contact: Michael O Shield oshielmi@co.gwinnett.ga.us or

4 Gwinnett Arbor Day 2001 Tree Plantings Saturday, February 17, a.m. to 2 p.m. Dacula Park Gwinnett County Adopt-A-Stream Workshop 3 - part series What is Adopt-A-Stream (More Info Coming Soon!) Intro to Adopt-A-Stream: Thursday, March 15, :00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Biological Basics: Tuesday, March 20, :00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Chemistry and Stream Visit: Saturday, March 24, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dept. of Public Utilities Central Facility Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities Adopt-A-Stream 684 Winder Hwy Lawrenceville, GA

5 Water Skin Adapted from EPA and Project WET activities A drop of water is small, but it is made of even smaller parts called molecules. Water molecules have bonds that hold them together. At the surface of the water, the molecules hold on to each other even more tightly because there are no molecules pulling them from the air above. As the molecules on the surface stick together, they form an invisible skin called surface tension. Water s surface tension is so strong it can even support paper clips and needles. Also, water striders and other insects can walk on the water without sinking. Compared to a piece of wood floating in the water, paper clips and water striders are not floating. Instead, they are held up by water s surface tension. Here is some experiments to show that surface tension is there, even if you can t see it. Experiment #1, Sticky Soap: Materials: Cooking oil Water source (faucet, hose, etc.) Hand soap Procedure: Water Strider on the water s skin 1. Rub a few drops of cooking oil on your hands. 2. Let the water from a faucet run over your hands and then turn off the faucet. What happens? 3. Now, wash your hands with soap. Does this make the oil go away? How it works: The water molecules stick together tightly and will not mix with the oil on your hand. Since water molecules are attracted to each other so strongly, they formed small balls or drops which rolled over your oil coated hand. The invisible skin of water tension is around each drop and keeps it from attaching to the oil or your hand. The soap does two things. First, the Soap molecules are attracted to both water and oil so the soap can stick to both. One part of the soap molecule sticks to the oil and the other part sticks to the water. Second, the soap breaks the skin on the water. These two properties allow the water to wash away the oil. Experiment #2, Soap Power: Materials: 1 Index card Scissors Plastic tub filled with water Liquid soap Picture of a Soap Boat Procedure: 1. From and index card, cut out a boat like pictured above. Make it about 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. 2. Place the boat gently on the water in the dish. 3. Place a drop of soap into the notch in the rear of the boat. What Happens? If you repeat this experiment, rinse out the tub carefully each time or you boat will not work. How it works: Your boat should zip across the water. This happens because originally the water is pulling equally on all sides of the boat. When the soap is added to the rear of the boat, the water skin is still puling from the front of the boat, but not

6 Staking Erosion Control Fabric During Arbor Day 2000 Learning Through Games at the Lanier WPF Open House Stenciling Storm Drains To Protect Our Rivers and Streams 2000 Volunteers don t just clean the river. They refine their navigational skills. It is easy to see the love among adopt a stream staff