Students Make Presentation to Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition

Fourteen Westminster College chemistry and biochemistry majors in Dr. Helen Boylan's Advanced Laboratory class presented work performed as a service learning project at the Nov. 8 meeting of the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition (SRWC) at the Jennings Environmental Education Center.

The project was designed to test the effectiveness of two passive treatment sites for acid mine drainage, implemented by SRWC, by investigating the chemical parameters of the water at the site. Students conducted on-site field testing and collected samples to test in the laboratory.

"The analyzed chemical parameters confirmed the treatment sites are working," Boylan said. "Untreated water was the orange color characteristic of acid mine drainage and contained no life. Water exiting the treatment site was crystal clear and even had tadpoles in it.

Cliff Denholm, a member of SRWC and partner in the project said, "The partnership between SRWC and Westminster College has been a rewarding experience for everyone involved. Dr. Boylan is providing her students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed through their class work to a 'real world' situation, while providing valuable water quality data that SRWC could not afford to do on our own. The data generated allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment system."

"The SRWC greatly appreciates the dedication and hard work of Dr. Boylan and her students," Denholm added.

Boylan, an associate professor of chemistry, has been with Westminster since 2001. She earned an undergraduate degree from Westminster College and Ph.D. from Duquesne University.

Contact Boylan at (724) 946-6293 or e-mail boylanhm@westminster.edu for additional information. 

Gathering samples