Waterworks Blog
What’s the Marcellus Shale?
October 4, 2011Lately, it seems like the terms “Marcellus Shale” and “fracking” are popping up everywhere. There’s a lot of information — and misinformation — and it remains a hot-button topic among environmentalists, lawmakers, and the general public alike. So what, exactly, is this chunk of rock everyone’s talking about? The Marcellus is a layer of black…
Recovering from — and preparing for — storms
September 25, 2011As Lehigh County Authority’s service area recovers from flooding caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee — the worst in the state since 1972’s Hurricane Agnes — we wanted to ensure our customers know where to turn for help. If your home or business has been affected, download this handy PDF guide to navigating state…
Turning trash into treasure
September 17, 2011Waste is a fact of life. In the kitchen, it doesn’t matter whether you’re slicing a tomato or cutting up a cucumber, peeling an apple or paring a pear, there are leftover skins and seeds to scrap. There are coffee grounds to contend with; eggshells to eliminate; paper towels to pitch. Then there’s all the…
Keeping it clean (and green)
August 19, 2011If you want to lead a more “green” lifestyle, one of the easiest places to start is the cabinet where you keep cleaning supplies. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, many household cleaners contain highly toxic substances. Examples include formaldehyde, which can be found in furniture polish and is considered a carcinogen by the World Health…
Safe drinking water saves lives
August 15, 2011In a recent report on global health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed access to clean water and sanitation as one of the top global health achievements in the last 10 years. The report, which can be found in its entirety here, cites increased access to improved drinking water sources for more than…
Garden overflowing? Freeze that food!
August 11, 2011Harvest time is, arguably, the best part of growing your own fruits and vegetables. You’ve used compost to enrich the soil; kept weeds down by mulching, and used your rain barrels to irrigate the plants. Now it’s time reap what you’ve sown. But when everything starts turning ripe around the same time, a trip to…
Lawn brown? Don’t let it get you down
August 2, 2011With summer heat making even your thermometer break a sweat, many homeowners are taking to watering their lawns more frequently. The trouble is, that’s not always the best thing for it. For starters, frequent watering encourages grass to develop shallow roots – not the deep-reaching roots that help to create a healthy lawn capable of…
Source Water Protection is everyone’s job
July 19, 2011On Thursday, June 23, Lehigh County Authority and the City of Allentown hosted a joint presentation to explain our respective plans to protect our drinking water supplies from contamination. The presentation summed up an exhaustive study of where our water comes from and how it can be affected by any number of factors, including runoff…
Water conservation makes good cents
July 11, 2011Wasting water is like flushing money down the drain. So if you’re looking for ways to save some cash, one of the simplest solutions is to save some water. Start by checking faucets and toilets for leaks. Those little drips coming from your tap can, according to Earth Easy, waste 20 gallons of water daily…
Next stop: The buffer zone
June 28, 2011When it comes to protecting our rivers and streams, there’s one option that’s easy to accomplish yet can work wonders: a buffer zone. What’s a buffer zone? It’s an area that catches, slows and filters water runoff before it enters a stream or river. It can remove chemicals, excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen…