(March 30, 2017) Marine scientists from EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc. took a first step in rehabilitating the ponds at Berlin Falls Park this week.
Guests at the park may have noticed Michael Stephens and Anna DeGeorge, both from EA, walking around the park on Monday. Stephens was dressed in overalls and work boots and appeared to be carrying around a large staff. He climbed up and down areas near the water, while DeGeorge, carrying a small computer tablet and a pad of paper, took down readings.
The result, they said, would be the creation of topographical map of the land and water at the park.
“We’re taking land elevations for creation of a digital elevation map, what we call a DEM, which is used for a lot of planning for construction or dredging,” Stephens said. “[On Tuesday] we’ll be doing a hydrographic survey, that’s basically driving the boat in parallel lines and taking soundings all the way across. We’ll be going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth [over the ponds].”
On Thursday, Stephen said, he and DeGeorge would take sediment cores with the assistance of professors from Salisbury University and Johns Hopkins University.
“We’ll essentially take the samples for them and they’ll take the samples back to their lab,” Stephens said.
He explained what the scientists would be looking for.
“They’re isolating DNA for antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” he said. The site had formerly been used for industrial purposes by Tyson’s Chicken.
“We are excited to be at this stage in the development of this unique asset,” Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said in a press release last week. “The ponds are a focal point of the property. This process will enable us to determine the best way to use them.”
Town Administrator Laura Allen said the town had also worked with scientists from the Thriving Earth Exchange to determine the type of bacteria present in the sediment on the property.
The Thriving Earth Exchange is an organization that builds a partnership between earth and space scientists with community leaders to solve challenges related to natural hazards, natural resources, and climate change, according to the release.
“We have a contract with EA Engineering, Science and Technology to perform a geotechnical analysis of the ponds to enable us to determine the best approach to remediation and how much it will cost,” Allen said.
She said the town was working with Dr. Ellen Silbergeld, a professor of environmental health science at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Jennifer Nyland, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Salisbury University.
“EA will handle most of the sampling process, removing sediment from the ponds,” Allen said. “Several samples will be extracted specifically for bacterial analysis using a method outlined by Dr. Silbergeld. Our wastewater treatment labs will be used for some of the testing as well.”
Williams said a plan and cost estimate for environmental remediation would help the town compete for grant funding.