Remember Me

Calendar

previous month February 2010 next month
S M T W T F S
week 5 1 2 3 4 5 6
week 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
week 7 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
week 8 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
week 9 28
Click on the slide!

2010 Spring Meltdown

Join FODC for a celebration of Earth Day and the winter thaw on Friday April 23rd at the Morgantown Brewing Company at 7 PM.  We'll be auctioning Patagonia gear, local photography and art, gift baskets, massages, signed WVU football gear, outdoor recreation trips, and much more! If you are interested in donating for the auction, please contact us. Live music by Live Way Around and The Halftime String Band!!!

More...
Click on the slide!

YAB's Project WAVE

 

The FODC Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is a group of dedicated youth interested in clean water and helping the community. Their mission is to increase youth participation in helping clean up the Deckers Creek watershed for conservation, preservation, & recreation through youth-led projects and research. They are announcing the 2010 Project WAVE - click the photo for info!

Click on the slide!

Rain Barrels For Sale!

 

Contact FODC to purchase your own 55 gallon plastic rain barrel with downspout, hose fitting, and overflow hole to support FODC and the Youth Advisory Board.  Rain barrels can be used to water indoor and outdoor plants, gardens, pets, etc. and will save you money on your water bill while recycling rain water and reducing stormwater pollution!

More...
Click on the slide!

Clean Creek Program

 

To get back to a fishable and swimmable Deckers Creek. we need to know if projects aimed at improving water quality are working or not. That means ongoing water quality data collection, from the same set of sampling locations consistently over time.

Click on the slide!

Acid Mine Drainage

 

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the most damaging pollutant in Deckers Creek. When coal mining breaks up coal and the rock layers near the coal, water and oxygen react with pyrite, a mineral, and convert it to sulfuric acid and dissolved iron. These chemicals, along with the aluminum that is dissolved out of other rocks by the acid, negatively impact fish and other aquatic organisms.

Having trouble seeing this site?  Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 for free.

Deckers Creek is a scenic tributary to the Monongahela River in north central West Virginia. From its headwaters outside the historic town of Arthurdale, Deckers Creek meanders through Preston County into Monongalia County where it descends through a steep scenic gorge.  This beautiful section of Deckers Creek is filled with waterfalls, boulders, and rock slides, contains world class kayaking, and is frequented by kayakers, rock climbers, bikers, and swimmers.  From here, Deckers Creek passes through several communities and into Morgantown, where it empties into the Monongahela River.

Over the years, Deckers creek has been degraded by numerous pollutants.  These pollutants include, but are not limited to, acid mine drainage (AMD), bacteria from combined sewage overflows, heavy metals, sediment, trash, and general abandonment, which negatively impact the 64-square mile watershed.  The biggest threat to the watershed is AMD.  This product, of abandoned coal mines, destroys the environmental quality of Deckers Creek and its tributaries, turns the waters red-orange, and creates acid conditions in which fish and macroinvertebrates cannot live. 

Friends of Deckers Creek is working to clean-up the decades of environmental degradation that have been inflicted on the watershed.  Through remediation projects, trash clean-ups, community outreach, and environmental education, it is FODC’s goal for the entire length of Deckers Creek to be fishable by 2010 and swimmable by 2015; turning the creek from a liability into a community asset.  To learn how you can help or to become a member, check out our calendar and newsletter, or send us an email at info@deckerscreek.org