Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association

The Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association (UGWA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation located in Mullens, West Virginia. UGWA was officially founded in December, 2002 in response to the water quality problems that have negatively affected our communities. We work from the headwaters of the Guyandotte River downstream from the mouth of Pinnacle Creek.

UGWA is a grassroots, community-based organization working to reduce sources of pollution in order to clean up our streams and make our watershed a better place to live. By promoting positive change and producing results, UGWA has garnered a tremendous amount of public support and partnered with many local, state, and federal agencies.

Mission

The Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association desires to have a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous watershed that is more attractive to all stakeholders and is better managed to withstand the impacts of flooding. UGWA intends to do this by: educating all of our stakeholders on proper management practices, conducting projects to keep the streams clean, and by keeping local elected officials informed of our needs and actions through regular newsletters and meetings.

ervice Area

This watershed area is situated in the Allegheny Plateau and encompasses the headwaters of the Guyandotte River downstream to the mouth of Pinnacle Creek, only a portion of the entire Upper Guyandotte basin (Hydrologic Unit Code 05070101). Stonecoal Creek and Winding Gulf rise in Raleigh County and join to form the Guyandotte River just above the Raleigh-Wyoming county line, near Amigo. The Guyandotte River flows westerly through Wyoming County then flows northwesterly, eventually draining into the Ohio River at Huntington, West Virginia.

Problems Facing the Watershed

The main problem facing the watershed is untreated househole sewage. [cite web | url = http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e34cbb5867df82a085257359003d480c/e011abe2b1e958d1852570d60070fe6f!OpenDocument | title = EPA established clean-up plans for Guyandotte Watershed | author = Environmental Protection Agency | date = 9pm. March 31, 2004 | work = Webnews| accessdate = 2008-02-10 ] UGWA conducted a watershed-wide study to determine the number of people without wastewater treatment. The study found that 66% of the residents in the watershed (over 5,000 homes) had no form of househole wastewater treatment. That meant that 66% of the people are either "straight piping", which is when all of their household wastewater enters a pipe that dumps directly into the stream, or have failing septic systems. [cite web | url = http://www.ugwawv.org/press/Mullens%20Advocate%208_10_05.pdf | title = UGWA Targets Wastewater Pollution | author = Mullens Advocate | date = 11am. August 10, 2005 | work = News | accessdate = 2008-02-03 ] This has led to large amounts of untreated household sewage in most of the streams throughout the watershed. The only municipal wastewater treatment facility in the watershed is located in Mullens and provides service to 23% of homes. 9% of the homes have a permitted septic system, leaving 66% with untreated wastewater.

Topography

The Upper Guyandotte watershed is 260 square miles in size and is heavily forested. The watershed includes portions of both eastern Wyoming County and southern Raleigh County, West Virginia and has a population of approximately 7,700. The landscape is rugged topography with steep hillsides and narrow valley floodplains. Many watershed communities are located in these valleys which are prone to flooding. Coal mining and logging are the major industries in the watershed.

Amigo Wastewater Project

The first wastewater project that UGWA began working on was at the mouth of Devils Fork in an unincorporated town called Amigo. The goal of the wastewater project is to provide wastewater treatment to the roughly 80 residents of both Amigo and J.A. Woods. With the help of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) and the engineering firm Anderson & Associates, the feasibility study has been completed and design is scheduled to begin shortly.

Education and Outreach

We believe that the only way that UGWA will have long-reaching success is if everyone is involved. In order to welcome everyone in the process of restoring and protecting the watershed and provoke a sense of pride and connection to the Upper Guyandotte Watershed's natural resources , UGWA has increased its outreach efforts to include: stream walks, school programs which encourage a multidisciplinary approach to watershed education, small community forums, being present at festivals and events, and hosting our own annual Anything-That-Floats Race and Guyandotte Celebration.

tream Monitoring

A crucial aspect of improving water quality in the watershed, is UGWA's Long Term Monitoring Program (LTMP). The LTMP relies on Volunteer Water Monitors to gather the data that allows UGWA to secure funding for wastewater and restoration projects, because without data, we're up the creek without a paddle. By monitoring the streams for metals, fecal coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, total dissolved solids, and conductivity, we can accurately assess the health of each individual stream and ultimately address the root of water quality problems in the Upper Guyandotte Watershed.

In addition to the LTMP, two Short Term Monitoring Programs (STuMPs) are implemented as well. The goal of the STuMPs is to monitor priority subwatersheds before, during, and after project implementation to gauge water quality improvement. Currently the subwatersheds with STuMPs in place are Winding Gulf and Devils Fork.

UGWA Events

UGWA hosts a variety of environmental education and cleanup events annually. The main events are the metals collection, the make it shine stream cleanup, and the watershed celebration day.

Metals Collection

Every year since 2004, the Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association and the WVDEP team up to sponsor the metals collection. UGWA hosted it's fourth metals collection October 11-13th, 2007 with about 150 residents participating. [cite web | url = http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_292214427.html | title = Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association Announces Successful Metals Collection | author = The Register Herald | date = 9pm. October 19, 2007 | work = Newspaper | accessdate = 2008-02-03 ]

Make It Shine Stream Cleanup

UGWA participates in the WV Make It Shine Great American Cleanup, the state’s largest annual community improvement program. Every spring, a stretch of stream is adopted and volunteers gather for the one-day event to pick up trash along that stretch of stream. The purpose of this project is to increase community pride, clean up the river, and foster local involvement in UGWA’s revitalization efforts. Participating in a Make It Shine cleanup is a fun and rewarding volunteer activity. To date, volunteers have collected over 35 tons of trash from area streams. [cite web | url = http://www.ugwawv.org/press/Independent%20Herald%207_27_05.pdf | title = Stream Cleanup Targeted | author = The Independent Herald | date = 9pm. July 27, 2005 | work = Newspaper | accessdate = 2008-02-10 ]

Watershed Celebration Day

The inaugural Watershed Celebration Day was held September 30th, 2007. The first ever "anything that floats" race was sponsored by UGWA. The race starts at the Mullens Opportunity Center and ends in Pineville. Due to low water conditions, the race was ended at the Council on Aging in Itmann. Volunteer opportunities and information about the watershed was distributed to individuals interested. The Bluegrass Crossties and the Lily Mountaineers both performed a set of bluegrass music in the evening.

References

External links

* [http://www.ugwawv.org/ Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association]
* [http://www.wvdep.org/ West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection]
* [http://www.wvdnr.gov/ West Virginia Division of Natural Resources]
* [http://www.canaanvi.org/canaanvi_web/index.aspx Canaan Valley Institute]
* [http://www.railwv.org Rural Appalachian Improvement League]
* [http://www.railwv.org/mullens_opportunity_center.htm Mullens Opportunity Center]