A Periodic Update from the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission
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Welcome Chairman Duritsa!
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ORSANCO elected Charles Duritsa of Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, PA as the 68th Chairman of ORSANCO at the Commission’s June 2020 Virtual Commission Meeting. He assumed office on July 1
st
. Charles Duritsa served as Director of the Southwest Regional Office for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 1988 until his retirement in 2004. Durtisa has served as a Pennsylvania Commissioner to ORSANCO since 2004 and most recently served as Vice Chairman from July 2019-June 2020. To learn more about our new Chairman, click
here
.
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Update on ORSANCO's Programs & the Coronavirus Pandemic
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ORSANCO continues to follow all state and federal protocols during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while continuing essential programs to keep the Ohio River safe and healthy. Some of these programs include: ORSANCO’s Organics Detection System (ODS), Emergency Response, Contact Recreation Bacteria Monitoring, Bimonthly Water Quality Sampling, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Monitoring, and more. ORSANCO also provides weekly water quality data online at
orsanco.org/weekly-ohio-river-water-quality-report
.
On June 10-11, 2020, ORSANCO also held its first-ever virtual Technical Committee and Commission meetings, successfully connecting Commissioners, Technical Committee Members, staff, and public citizens from ORSANCO’s eight Basin states.
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The Ohio River Recreation Trail & New Digital Guide
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The Ohio River Recreation Trail (ORRT) connects people and communities to opportunities for adventure on and along the Ohio River. The trail can be enjoyed from either land or water by paddlers, power boaters, cyclists, motorists, hikers, and more. A new "Digital Guide to the Ohio" developed by the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) for the ORRT includes locations of boat ramps, marinas, campgrounds, parks, etc. with a focus on safety with real time tracking of barges, current, river stage, and more! To learn more about the ORRT and the new “Digital Guide to the Ohio”, click
here
. We also developed a new
Recreation
tab on our website, featuring links to the ORRT and other important information such as bacteria data, marina locations, and more!
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Life Below the Waterline & Ohio River Sweep Postponed
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ORSANCO’s Life Below the Waterline mobile aquarium will be traveling again soon; however, all remaining events for the 2020 season have been canceled. This unique display is one of the few traveling aquariums in the United States that is displayed at various events throughout the Ohio River Basin. The Ohio River Sweep was also postponed this year due to state and local coronavirus advisories. The event will be held on multiple dates this summer and fall. Anyone who is interested in participating should contact their local
Ohio River Sweep Coordinator
. More information and updates on both Life Below the Waterline and Ohio River Sweep can be found on ORSANCO’s
website
.
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