| Bushkill
Creek Watershed Project
Lafayette College, Easton, PA |
 |
| Bushkill
Creek Watershed Project
Lafayette College, Easton, PA |
|
PADEP Growing Greener program 
Bushkill Creek Watershed covers approximately
200 km2 of north-central Northampton County, PA. The creek
empties into the Delaware River at the foot of College Hill in Easton. The watershed
has been the subject of various water quality investigations over the past
30 years (including ongoing data collection by local high school and Lafayette
students) and is the site of Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center operated
by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Although
portions of the Creek have a long history of industrial use, the Bushkill is a high quality stream, and supports an excellent trout fishery. The Bushkill Stream Conservancy
is active in a variety of environmental concerns on the watershed, and the
local planning office (LVPC) has implemented a stormwater management plan (under State Act 167). Because of its accessibility to campus, the watershed
provides an outstanding resource to the College. For further information about each component of the
project, explore the following links:
The Bushkill Creek Watershed Project is an effort by Lafayette faculty and students, along with its partners in the local community, to use the watershed for teaching and research in the areas of watershed hydrology, water quality, and environmental management. We are particularly interested in minimizing the impacts of land use changes and suburban sprawl, which are rapidly changing the character of the watershed.
The objectives of the project are the following:
Develop a network of water quality sampling locations along the Creek for long-term, consistent collection and analysis of stream samples to clearly document changing environmental conditions in the watershed
Develop a network of automated stream, groundwater, and weather monitoring stations to support a program of research in watershed hydrology, geomorphology, and water quality
Assess impacts of development and other non-point pollution sources to water quantity and quality to support effective watershed management and land use planning
Work in cooperation with the Bushkill Stream Conservancy and other organizations established to protect the watershed
Serve as a teaching tool for improving environmental geoscience education for the Lafayette community and surrounding high schools
Click on the thumbnail below for a topographic map of the watershed:
