COAL CREEK TRIBUTARY

The Coal Creek watershed is a 1.6 square-mile watershed.  Coal Creek originates in Hamilton Township and flows into Blossburg Borough where it joins the Tioga River just west of White Street.  The area was extensively surface and deep mined for coal.  Most of the Coal Creek watershed has been undermined, including portions of Coal Creek itself, allowing infiltration of stream water into underlying mine workings and contributing to AMD pollution.  The largest volume discharge with the most degraded water quality in the Upper Tioga River Watershed in located on Coal Creek and is identified as DCC005.

Surface mining was conducted extensively throughout the watershed.  This surface mining sometimes cut into the abandoned deep mine workings below, increasing infiltration and thus the volume of AMD produced.  While some reclamation has taken place, there are areas that should be reclaimed, likely reducing AMD pollution.

The Coal Creek headwaters suffer from acid deposition and episodic acidification.

BAMR and SRBC are exploring options for treating Coal Creek in conjunction with the Morris Run Tributary using funds from several different funding sources. SRBC will oversee and manage the project. SRBC prepared a Qualified Hydrologic Unit (QHU) plan for the watershed which is required to apply to these funding sources. The QHU was approved in late December 2019. While we are a number of years away from project completion, it is gratifying to know that the Upper Tioga River Watershed will be reclaimed!

Please see Tioga River Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Project for updates about this tributary.