Three Rivers Waterkeeper

08/22/2026

This week we visited Forest Explorers from Reforest Our Future and students at the Sparkling Creek Summer Camp! We found lots of macroinvertebrates in Brady's Run and Fall Run and then made drawings of what we saw. Documenting macroinvertebrates helps us monitor water quality and drawing them sharpens our noticing and identification skills. We found mayflies, crayfish, scuds, water penny beetle larvae, and lots of clay. 🦐

Thanks Simone Martel for the great documentation of Forest Explorers!

08/21/2026

This week’s Swim Guide Sampling results are in! Our rotating site was an unnamed tributary to Chartier’s Creek. The greater Pittsburgh area received roughly 1 inch of rainfall yesterday. We sampled while it was actively raining, and the outfalls were actively overflowing. Another thing we noticed at a lot of our sites was flooded and blown-out creeks and streams!

Want to get results sent directly to you? Sign up at: 3rwk.org/swim

08/20/2026

Join us on September 17th at Lawrenceville Distilling Co.! We are partnering up to forage materials that make both flavor and color, representing each of our three rivers. Get your ticket at 3RWK.org/distill for an evening of natural dyes and fantastic cocktails in Verona right by the Allegheny River. 🍹

08/19/2026

Three Rivers Waterkeeper has recently received PFAS test results from wildlife samples in Montour Run Watershed. Read on to learn more about our PFAS sampling efforts in Montour Run Watershed.

Thank you to our partners at Dr. Carrie McDonough’s Lab at Carnegie Mellon University who analyzed the wildlife mentioned in this post. Thank you, also, to our other partners (Dr. Porter’s Lab at Duquesne University and Dr. Ng’s Lab at the University of Pittsburgh) who helped with additional sampling efforts.

08/19/2026

We are happy to share that Addie Kelble has officially joined our team as our Environmental Educator! Addie first started with us back in May 2025 as a summer intern before serving over 1700 hours in the last 11 months with us as an Pennsylvania Mountain Service Corps AmeriCorps member. During her time so far, she's helped with educational programming, water sampling, communications, and more! Please join us in welcoming Addie to our team!

08/17/2026

Check out our upcoming events for the rest of August and the beginning of September. We hope to see you there! More information and registration at 3RWK.org/events

08/17/2026

08/14/2026

Swim Guide results are in! This week's rotating site was Lake Elizabeth in Allegheny Commons Park on the North Side. We sampled toward the end of the 48-hour Combined Sewer Overflow, and it looks like we’ll get some rain this weekend, so our numbers may not accurately reflect current E. coli levels in our waterways. Big Sewickley Creek Watershed Association also joined us again and collected additional samples within their watershed.

Want to get Swim Guide results sent to your inbox? Sign up at 3rwk.org/swim

08/13/2026

Last week, we had so much fun with RiverWise, their Summer Sustainability Institute students, and Allegheny CleanWays. We spent the morning on the Ohio River and Raccoon Creek discussing plastics and raising awareness of the different environmental issues they contribute to in our region. The students also participated in a Nurdle Patrol and a small litter cleanup. Thanks for spending the day on the water with us!