Water Quality

The Appalachian Trail passes many lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, wetlands, seeps, springs, and wells. Because it mostly runs on the high grounds of mountains and ridge crests, it often is at the top of important watersheds. Watersheds are the areas of land that collect water and drain it off into a stream or river. The nearly 1,800 streams, rivers and lakes found along the Trail are the heads of 64 major watersheds along the eastern seaboard.

The numerous water bodies along the Trail provide drinking water and scenic delights for hikers and provide important habitat for wildlife and plants. Further downstream, these same resources contribute to public water supplies, sustain fisheries resources, and enable hydropower generation.

By monitoring at the headwaters, where these watersheds begin, we can assess the quality of water before it is altered as it moves down through the watershed. Water quality is naturally altered as streams run down watersheds and merge into rivers. Other impacts to water quality include:

• Air pollution, created by burning fossil fuels like gas and coal, that travels in the atmosphere and produces acid rain as well as mercury deposition. These pollutants impact waters everywhere, including the high reaches of the A.T.
• Non-point sources of pollution such as erosion and agricultural run-off, and point source impacts like power plants and sewage treatment plants. Point and non-point pollutants mostly affect areas farther downstream.

Another reason to study high-elevation water bodies on the A.T. is to keep track of early warnings of climate change. As weather patterns change, so could precipitation patterns and air temperatures, and we may be able to detect these early impacts on A.T. water resources by changes in the water temperature, level, and flow.

Join ATC for World Water Monitoring Day

As part of the Appalachian Trail MEGA-Transect Initiative, ATC is participating in World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) on the A.T. again in 2009.  Held annually between March 22 and December 31, WWMD is an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world.

The Appalachian Trail runs through many important watersheds. An analysis of long-term water quality trends will help improve and sustain the water resources of the A.T. by providing valuable information to land managers. Water samples collected by volunteers participating in WWMD help develop a Trail-wide snapshot of the status of water resources and raise awareness of the significant freshwater resources that occur along the Trail. Last year, almost 650 volunteers sampled water sources along the length of the A.T.; we hope to build on those results in 2009. 

Volunteer for World Water Monitoring Day or contact waterquality@appalachiantrail.org for more information.

Join ATC’s Water Quality Monitoring Program

ATC has been monitoring water quality at many sites since 2002. This program detects trends in water quality variations by repeatedly monitoring the same sites. Comparing the trends across the whole A.T. can help identify changes impacting the entire eastern United States.

Volunteers use portable, chemically-sensitive test strips that provide instant results at each site. Sites are generally monitored once each month from April through October, every year. Citizen scientists report on water quality values like pH, alkalinity and nitrogen concentrations.

For more information or to sign up, contact mstevens@appalachiantrail.org.