In keeping with its mission to "restore and protect the natural resources of the scenic Octoraro Creek," the Octoraro Watershed Association (OWA) recently sponsored two projects - an Earth Day cleanup and a stream study.

Thirty-seven participants took part in the cleanup around the Octoraro Reservoir on April 15, including OWA members, members of Andrews Bridge Foxhounds, volunteers from Allan Myers construction and people from the community. This is the seventh year that the effort has been held. Three groups in five locations collected 1,500 pounds of trash, which included 400 pounds in Chester County and 1,100 pounds in Lancaster County.

Participants met at Jim Neary's Bait & Tackle in Kirkwood, where they received supplies and directions to the work areas and enjoyed snacks that were provided by Kreider's Market, Kirkwood. "Picking up trash is not onerous when done with friendly and knowledgeable companions," said OWA member Rupert Rossetti, event organizer. He noted that eagles and other birds were sighted during the cleanup.

The Chester Water Authority provided dumpsters for all the bottles, broken glass, cans, plastics and other debris collected by the volunteers.

OWA also hosted members of the Lancaster Clean Water Partners Watershed Leadership Academy on April 29. The event, which was held on Coopers Run in southern Lancaster County, included a hands-on demonstration of macroinvertebrate sampling, The event was led by Allyson Gibson, Lancaster Clean Water Partners director, and Matt Royer from Penn State University.

OWA members Mary Kay Phillips and Jim Harnish demonstrated how to collect samples of macroinvertebrates living in the stream by wading in the water and collecting the critters using a seine net.

OWA member Chotty Sprenkle explained that a stream's quality is determined by the creatures that can be found in the water. "You look at the type of macroinvertebrates that you find," she said. "(Certain) critters will not live there if the water is not of good quality. They are sensitive to pollution."

Among the critters found in the water were hellgrammites (dobsonfly larvae), non-net-spinning caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies, damselflies and scuds, all of which are sensitive to water quality, and blackflies and a leech, which are water quality tolerant.

After the collection, it was determined that Coopers Run was on the high end of the "Fair Stream" category. "It is not a perfect stream. It is supporting life, but it would look better with greater species diversity," noted Phillips. "If we had found just one water penny or gilled snail, we would have been in the 'Good' category."

The critters were returned to the water following the study. Members of the Andrews Bridge Foxhounds group provided lunch for participants.

More information about the Leadership Academy is available at http://www.lancastercleanwaterpartners.com/lancaster-watershed-leadership-academy. For more information about the OWA and its activities, visit http://www.theowa.org or search for "The Octoraro Watershed Association" on Facebook.