News

05.12.2012 - DOMINION POST

River's dams are showing their age

vWe were told we could get a good view of the explosion if we waited along the B&O Railroad tracks. We drove to Uffington and parked our car. We walked across the railroad bridge and down the tracks toward Morgantown. The exact time of the blast had been explained. A worker was on the tracks to tell us how close we could get. The newspaper’s new 35mm camera with an...

02.12.2011 - DAILY ATHENAEUM

Mon River QUEST wins regional IMPACT Award for water research

The Mon River QUEST, a comprehensive water quality survey administered at 16 locations along the Monongahela River, received a regional IMPACT Award from the National Institutes for Water Resources. The project, founded by the West Virginia Water Research Institute at West Virginia University, received the Mid-Atlantic Region IMPACT Award. Mon River QUEST is an automatic nominee for...

02.06.2011 - WVU TODAY

West Virginia Water Research Institute wins regional award, nominated for national

Mon River Quest, a comprehensive water quality monitoring program established by the West Virginia Water Research Institute at West Virginia University, has been recognized as one of the best research, education and outreach projects in the nation and will now compete for national honors. The program was awarded a Regional IMPACT Award by the National Institutes for Water Resources...

02.01.2012 - DAILY ATHENAEUM

Mon River QUEST monitors local water safety

Mon River QUEST, a study supported by West Virginia University, aims to monitor water safety in the Monongahela River. The project, which started in 2010 and is funded by the Colcom Foundation, asks volunteers to take water samples in various places along the river to be tested for irregularities and identify the possible factors that contribute to contamination...

1.19.2012 - MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS

River researchers help assess Monongahela water's 'health'

It's a cold January morning. Ben Mack, a research associate from West Virginia University's West Virginia Water Research Institute, leaves a fresh set of boot prints in the snow as he walks down the ramp leading to the shore of the Monongahela River in Elizabeth. Mack is carrying a backpack full of plastic jugs, a sophisticated meter that measures water quality, and a tattered log book, tools of a trade he's been...

1.10.2012 - THE STATE JOURNAL

Mon River QUEST Harnesses Volunteers as Early Warning System

In a watershed hit by two major pollution events in recent years, a West Virginia University-based program is helping residents monitor and document the quality of the streams they care about. Mon River QUEST is a volunteer water quality monitoring program for the Monongahela River organized by the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU.

12.28.2011 - WVU TODAY

WVU Institute partners with volunteers on "QUEST" for Mon River Water Quality info

Mon River Quest isn’t the name of an upcoming Indiana Jones movie; it isn’t a board game you can find in the local toy store; and it isn’t the name of some kind of river geography quiz. Mon River Quest is a major West Virginia University -based initiative that is empowering hundreds of volunteers in an effort to keep an eye on thousands of miles of Monongahela River tributary streams so that any detected irregularities can be...

11.30.2011 - EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL

What Killed Dunkard Creek?

In August 27, 2009, Dan Cincotta, a fisheries biologist with West Virginia’s Department of Natural Resources, was conducting a routine inventory of Dunkard Creek, a small river that runs through West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. He was accompanied by a consultant and an environmental engineer from the state’s largest coal and gas company, Consol Energy, which operates a coalmine, Blacksville #2...

11.29.2011 - DOMINION POST

Friends of Deckers Creek Recognized

The Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC) has been named one of two state Watershed Associations of the Year for 2011. They share the honor with the Coal River Group. The awards were presented by the West Virginia Watershed Network for their efforts in protecting and restoring local watersheds. The presentations were made at the Nov. 5 Watershed Celebration Day. The two were named to the groupâ€™s highest honor because they have shown outstanding progress that has contributed greatly...

11.07.2011 - MON RIVER QUEST

Frequently Asked Questions About Marcellus Shale Fracking

Many of us have seen or heard about the YouTube video where the homeowner turns on his faucet and out comes water and fire. Did shale drilling and fracking cause that? What are the risks of shale gas development? How about the benefits? West Virginia Water Research Institute Director Paul Ziemkiewicz and his colleagues at West Virginia University have been conducting research about the environmental effects of the new gas...

10.04.2011 - WVU RESEARCH

WVU Researcher to Map Methane Sources in Monongahela-Area Drinking Water

Oil and gas operators and residents in the Marcellus shale region have become aware that drinking water can contain dissolved methane. But did it come from hydraulic fracturing, previously abandoned wells or from some other source? Now a West Virginia University researcher is gathering data to help answer that question for aquifers in the Monongahela River watershed.

10.04.2011 - WEST VIRGINIA WATER RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Water Research Request for Proposals 2011

The West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) is requesting proposals for research expected to be funded March 1, 2012 through February 28, 2013. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will sponsor the research. Faculty from all West Virginia colleges and universities are encouraged to apply. Closing date is November 9, 2011.

7.15.2011 - CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL

Fracking Rules Give DEP More Power

Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin pushed state environmental regulators Tuesday to protect water quality by increasing their oversight of natural gas companies in West Virginia. In an executive order aimed at the Department of Environmental Protection, Tomblin said the rules were necessary to protect public safety and the environment ahead of an expected boom in the state's gas industry.

7.13.2011 - WAJR

Water Quality Expert Sees Potential in Drilling Order

The regulatory program that comes together in West Virginia could be the standard for shale development regulation across the United States. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has taken the first step toward regulating the natural gas drilling industry.

7.5.2011 - WAJR

Interview with Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz

Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz discusses the importance of clean water in West Virginia on WAJR's "Talk of the Town" and how it might be even more valuable than any of the mineral resources within the next few years.

Listen Here (Interview Starts at 52:00)

7.2.2011 - MON RIVER QUEST

MonRiver QUEST Releases New ArcGIS Explorer Map

To keep up with the latest technology, increase functionality and to allow the Mon River QUEST program to grow and expand, we are very excited to launch a new, interactive data map! Using programming from ESRI’s ArcGIS Explorer, this site will be better able to display data in a manner that provides users with the ability to visualize the water quality of the Monongahela River at given locations or times.