Monroe County has been shaped by glaciers. They have left their mark in the land forms of the Pocono Plateau and gouged out valleys. Evidence of this natural process is also seen in the County's wetlands and unique bogs, its open water, and its soils. These have afforded Monroe County both an environment capable of supporting a wide array of plant and animal species and a high quality of life &emdash;as expressed by good drinking water, diverse scenic quality, and substantial outdoor recreational opportunities.
As with all of Monroe County's natural resources, water quality has a direct relationship to the local economy: water related recreational activities such as fishing, swimming, and boating are all dependent on the continued maintenance of 'Surface Water Quality' including high quality lakes, streams, and wetlands. The quality of surface water is dependent on stream bank vegetation which absorbs pollutants which would otherwise be carried into the water systems through run-off and erosion. Because of this, an ample vegetated buffer zone is needed around all lakes, streams, and wetlands to successfully manage surface water quality. In most cases, this buffer zone is regulated by the Commonwealth, but its management can become ineffective in the face of overuse or development.
Because most of the County's drinking water is supplied by underground wells, it is important to actively protect the quality of the ground water supply. Areas of high groundwater percolation are shown in 'Soils: Ground Water Quality.' Once contaminated water enters an underground aquifer it is easily transported across a large area.
One of Monroe County's pristine waterways.
Although the County's ground water quality is currently rated high, it is extremely vulnerable to contamination in areas of development that are neither constructed on septic soils nor sewered. There is already much of this development in Monroe County.
The south-western zone of Monroe County has sizable areas of active agricultural soil with very high productivity. These are shown in 'Productive Agricultural Soils.' Crops such as corn, potatoes, and Christmas trees are still grown, although there is the risk that they will be displaced by the trend of suburban development. These agricultural areas contribute to the local economy in two ways: directly by the crops they produce, and indirectly by attracting tourists to their landscapes.
On the summary map 'Geologic Landscape Evaluation', the darker shades of blue represent the areas that are most sensitive to impact. Not surprisingly, the most sensitive geologic sites are in the agricultural regions of the southwest.