NANTICOKE CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION

Located in the City of Nanticoke, Hanover and Newport Townships, and Warrior Run Borough, the Nanticoke Creek watershed (NCW) is a small sub-watershed of the Susquehanna River Basin. It has numerous impairments due to legacy anthracite coal mining, including obstructions, flow loss, dry streambeds, and acid mine drainage (AMD) discharges. In fact, only 30% of the streams in the watershed have the hydrological, ecological, and aesthetic qualities/functions of a natural stream. In 2019, EC embarked on an evaluation of the upper reaches of the watershed, located around the former Trusedale colliery. In the report, it’s noted that the stream has healthy baseflow in its upper reaches and good ecological health. Subsequently, however, flow is intermittent or absent: the landscape is highly irregular with piles of mine spoils, closed depressions, and other disturbances. One large pile of mine refuse near Hanover Street completely blocks flow from progressing downstream. At other points, flow is lost to subsurface mine voids. This results in acid mine runoff and drainage (AMD), much of which is discharged at the Askam borehole and partially treated by EC’s AMD treatment system. The NCW project seeks to restore the historic alignment of the Nanticoke Creek, beginning near Clarks Cross Road and progressing upstream. Impairments on both tributaries – the Upper Nanticoke Creek and Leuder Creek – also will be addressed. In total, nearly 15,000lf of permanent stream and floodway impacts are planned.