Hogans Creek Watershed Project
Human Impacts
There are many pollutants that enter Hogans Creek from its watershed. These are all connected to specific human activities such as industrial waste disposal, fertilizer use, leaking septic tanks, and a dramatic increase in impermeable/impervious surfaces. Some examples of likely pollution are listed below, but our particular project focuses on the first two.
- Nutrient pollution (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus): from fertilizer, waste, failing septic tanks
- Bacteria: from failing septic tanks, pet/duck waste
- Sediment pollution: enters from neighborhood streets and roads, construction site runoff, old infrastructure, and flooding.
- Coal tar: a factory that extracted natural gas from coal in the 19th century to light streetlights and homes had dumped heaps of used-up coal near the creek
- Incineration ash: ash (with heavy metals) from a nearby waste incineration facility
- Flooding: from urban storm-water runoff off of many impermeable surfaces, such as roads, parking lots, and rooftops
- Habitat loss/fragmentation: loss of wetlands, riparian habitat