AVONDALE, PA –From the
banks of the White Clay Creek to the world’s mightiest rivers, the Stroud Water
Research Center has contributed volumes to understanding the ecology of
watersheds for the past 40 years.
On September 22,
scientists, staff, educators, board members and friends of the Stroud Center
will celebrate the achievements of the organization, gathering along the banks
of the stream where they first began their work 40 years ago.
In the 40 years since Dr.
Ruth Patrick and W. Dixon Stroud launched their research organization to study
rivers and streams, the Stroud Center has worked to discover ways to preserve,
restore and protect freshwater for the planet. Among their key contributions:
- A 6-year study
(2000-2006) of the New York City water supply and its reservoirs, which
affects more than 8 million residents and more than 2,000 square miles of
watershed both east and west of the Hudson River. The Stroud Center’s
findings have given New York the opportunity to remediate problems and
possibly avoid building an $8 billion water treatment facility.
- Amazon River studies
that revealed the rate of carbon dioxide returning to the atmosphere is much
greater and faster than scientists had previously thought possible.
Additional work in Peru in the past year set a baseline for water quality
data at the headwaters of the Amazon.
- Ongoing studies in
Pennsylvania and other coal mining states to determine the long-term effects
of abandoned mine drainage on freshwater streams.
- Efforts to plant
“riparian buffer zones” along streams, especially in southeastern
Pennsylvania. Stroud Center research has shown the positive effects of tree
planting in restoring and remediating freshwater stream health.
- The Leaf Pack Network
educational program that has reached school-aged children around the globe.
The press is invited to
attend the 40th anniversary celebration on Saturday, September 22,
noon to 5 p.m. Individual interviews with Dr. Bernard Sweeney, Director of the
Stroud Center, or any of the center’s scientists and educators may be arranged.
###
