PennFuture’s Water is Life Month is the perfect theme for reminding ourselves that all Pennsylvanians are guaranteed a right to clean water by Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Most importantly, it is the duty of the three branches of our Commonwealth government to conserve the quality and maintain the quantity of our water for the benefit of all people, including generations yet to come.
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“In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes - so with present time.” — Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519).

"Susquehanna" comes from the Len'api Indian term meaning, "Oyster River." Oyster beds were widespread in the bay near the mouth of the river, where it entered the Chesapeake Bay. At 464 miles long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and is the 16th-largest river in the United States.  The Susquehanna River is one of the oldest existing rivers in the world, being dated as 320-340 Mya, older than the mountain ridges which it dissects. 

"A river is more than an amenity—it is a treasure that offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have the power over it.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841 – 1935), U.S. Supreme Court Justice, speaking about the Delaware River in 1931.

The PA Fish Commission was created in 1866 to solve the problems caused by dams blocking the free migration of American shad in the Susquehanna River, and water pollution from logging filling our streams and rivers with sediment. In 1867, the first fishway was constructed at the Columbia (Wrightsville) Dam (built in 1840) as the first attempt to restore anadromous fish runs to the Susquehanna. Then, along came the York Haven (1904), Holtwood (1910), Conowingo (1929), and Safe Harbor (1931) hydroelectric dams, which continue to be major impediments to migratory fish since they were built. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made in restoring migratory shad runs to most eastern rivers, but PFBC staff remain committed to achieving the migratory fish restoration goals of two million American shad and five million river herring spawning upstream of the York Haven Dam.

“We abuse land because we view it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” — Aldo Leopold (1887 -1948), A Sand County Almanac.

Lesions and sores caused by bacterial infections appeared on young-of-year (YOY) smallmouth bass collected from the Susquehanna River in 2005. The disease symptoms produced a massive fish kill that still affects the fishery today. The average catch rate of adult smallmouth bass is only 20 percent of what it was prior to 2005. YOY smallmouth bass catch rates are 1/3 of what they were prior to 2002. Adult bass have been found with cancerous tumors, open sores, and lesions. Black spots that aren’t totally understood (blotchy bass syndrome), as well as high rates of intersex conditions (male bass with egg precursors and hormones, which should be found only in female bass) caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) now occur. These chemicals are coming from sewage treatment plant outfalls and other sources. Unprecedented algae blooms fueled by excessive dissolved phosphorus, along with low dissolved oxygen and high pH conditions, are all factors in this complicated problem.

"Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children's lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land." — Luna Leopold (1915 – 2006).

I have published a number of Straight Talk articles in the Pennsylvania Angler and Boater magazine discussing the reasons why we need to begin taking action now before it is too late. Beginning with The Last Bass and Through the Eyes of a Child (2012), to S.O.S. (2015), Fear of the Known (2016) and The Precautionary Principle (2017), I discuss the ecological impacts of nutrients, EDCs and herbicides coming off of our land. Despite some moderate improvements to bass populations from several successful spawns, I continue to advocate the urgent need to create a plan (Total Maximum Daily Load) for the Susquehanna at the watershed scale, much like we have for the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie and other waters across our country. Why? Because our bass and oysters are depending on it, our anglers expect it, and Article 1 Section 27 of our Pennsylvania Constitution requires it.

“In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.”— Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964)