Assessing the water chemistry of tributaries in the Mahoning River Watershed, Youngstown, Ohio

Abstract:

Natural gas drilling activities and related industries (e.g., injection wells, compressor stations) have expanded in southeast Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania due to unconventional drilling methods accessing natural gas fields. This rapid increase in activity around surface water raised concerns with local residents. In particular, the residents of Youngstown, Ohio grew alarmed about the vulnerability of the city’s source water, which includes Meander Creek, the Mahoning River, and associated tributaries. Natural gas drilling activity near the Youngstown water supply posed the possibility of volatile organic compounds and other potentially carcinogenic chemical compounds leaking into surface water bodies. A community group from Youngtown and the Thriving Earth Exchange put together a community science program with researchers from Duquesne University, Ohio Northern University, and Wayne State University to address community concerns. A quarterly sampling field program was developed to investigate surface water around the Youngstown community. Water chemistry analysis examined surfactants, volatile organic compounds, anions, cations, light hydrocarbons, and trihalomethanes in water samples. Results from this study will broaden the understanding of chemicals of concern in local water bodies and provide municipal managers data for a better understanding of the Mahoning water resources. Through community-initiated questions and concerns, a grassroots approach emerged to address local water quality and facilitate a larger multistate collaborative to examine these concerns.