Introduction Objectives and scope 4 4 Location of Swatara Creek drainage basin 5 Factors affecting the chemistry of water 6 Significance of chemical analyses of water 8 Factors affecting sediment discharge and sediment characteristics of water Specific electrical conductance of water 13 Acknowledgments Swatara Creek basin Historical background and regional setting
The Allegheny River is the principal source of water to many industries and to communities in the upper Ohio River Valley. The river and its many tributaries pass through 19 counties in northwestern and western Pennsylvania. The population in these counties exceeds 3 million. A major user of the Allegheny River is the city of Pittsburgh, which has a population greater than 600,000. The Allegheny River is as basic to the economy of the upper Ohio River Valley in western Pennsylvania as are the rich deposits of bituminous coal, gas, and oil that underlie the drainage basin. During the past 5 years many streams that flow into the Allegheny have been low flowing because of droughts affecting much of the eastern United States. Consequently, the concentration of solutes in some streams has been unusually high because of wastes from coal mines and oil wells. These and other water-quality problems in the Allegheny River drainage basin are affecting the economic future of some areas in western Pennsylvania. Because of environmental factors such as climate, geology, and land and water uses, surface-water quality varies considerably throughout the river basin. The natural quality of headwater streams, for example, is affected by saltwater wastes from petroleoum production. One of the streams most affected is Kinzua Creek, which had 2,900 parts per million chloride in a sample taken at Westline on September 2, 1959. However, after such streams as the Conewango, Brokenstraw, Tionesta, Oil, and French Creeks merge with the Allegheny River, the dissolved-solids and chloride concentrations are reduced by dilution. Central segments of the main river receive water from the Clarion River, Redbank, Mahoning, and Crooked Creeks after they have crossed the coal fields of west-central Pennsylvania. At times, therefore, these streams carry coalmine wastes that are acidic. The Kiskiminetas River, which crosses these coal fields, discharged sulfuric acid into the Allegheny at a rate of 299 tons a day during the 1962 water year (October 1, 1961, to September 30, 1962). Mine water affects the quality of the Allegheny River most noticeably in its lower part where large withdrawals are made by the Pittsburgh Water Company at Aspinwall and the Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority at Nadine. At these places raw river water is chemically treated in modern treatment plants to control such objectionable characteristics as acidity and excessive concentrations of iron and manganese. 1 2 SURFACE WATER, ALLEGHENY RIVER BASIN, PA.-N.Y. Dissolved-solids content in the river varies along its entire length. In its upper reaches the water of the Allegheny River is a sodium chloride type, and at low flow, the sodium chloride is more than half the dissolved solids. In its lower reaches the water is a calcium sulfate type, and at low flow the calcium sulfate is more than half the dissolved solids. In middle segments of the river from Franklin to Kittanning, water is more dilute and of a mixed type. Many small and several larger streams in the upper basin su...
The Lehigh River, 100 miles long, is the second largest tributary to the Delaware River. It drains 1,364 square miles in four physiographic provinces. The Lehigh River basin includes mountainous and forested areas, broad agricultural valleys and areas of urban and industrial development. In the headwaters the v^ater is of good quality and has a low concentration of solutes. Downstream, some tributaries receive coalmine drainage and become acidic; others drain areas underlain by limestone and acquire alkaline characteristics. The alkaline streams neutralize and dilute the acid mine water where they mix. The dissolved-oxygen content of river water, which is high in the upper reaches of the stream, is reduced in the lower reaches because of lower turbulence, higher temperature, and the respiration of organisms. The Lehigh is used for public supply, recreation, waterpower, irrigation, and mining and other industrial purposes. Because the river is shallow in its upper reaches, most of the water comes in contact with the atmosphere as it churns over rocks and around islets ard large boulders. Aeration of the water is rapid. When water that was low in diirsolvedoxygen concentration was released from the lower strata of the Francis E. Walter Reservoir in June 1966, it quickly became aerated in the Lehigh River, and for 40 miles downstream from the dam the water was nearly saturated with oxygen. Most of the river water requires only moderate treatment for industrial use and public distribution throughout the Lehigh River valley. At times, however, some segments of the main river and its tributaries transport industrial wastes and acid coalmine drainage. Usually the relatively high concentrations of solutes in water and the ensuing damage caused to quality by such waste discharges are more extensive and prolonged during droughts and other periods of low streamflow. For many years the Lehigh River flow has been continuously measured and its waters chemically analyzed. Since May 1966 an instrument installed by the U.S. Geological Survey at Easton, Pa., has continuously recorded such waterquality parameters as specific conductance, temperature, and dissolved oxygen content. WATER, LEHIGH EIVER BASIN, PENNSYLVANIA H7 EXPLANATION Hamilton Group Shale, sandy shale, flaggy sandstone,.and impure limestone Gneissic rocks Granite gneiss, crystalline arid unnamed rocks Contact Dashed where approximately located 446,000. By 1970 it is expected to increase to 465,000 (Delaware River Basin Commission, oral commun., 1965). COAL MINING Several streams, such as Sandy Run, Pond Creek, Indian Run, and Quakake, Black, and Nesquehoning Creeks, are affected by acidic wastes that issue from both active and abandoned coal mines. Some acid mine water also flows into the Lehigh River from abandoned mines in the adjoining Schuylkill River basin by way of the Nesquehoning drainage tunnel. In March 1965 this drainage tunnel discharged wastes into the Lehigh that contained 965 mg/1 (milligrams per liter) sulfate (table 6, p. H33). The tunnel discharge ...
The location of industrial plants is dependent on an ample water supply of suitable le quality. Information relating to the chemical characteristics of the water supplies is not only essential to the location of many plants but also is an aid in the manufacture and distribution of many commodities. Public water supplies are utilized extensively as a source of supply for many industrial plants, used either as delivered for domestic consumption or with further treatment if necessary to meet specific needs of the plant, such as water for processing, cooling, and steam generation. The industrial use of water in the United States in 1950 was estimated to be more than 75 billion gallons per day from private sources. • In addition, about 6 billion gallons per day was estimated to be taken• from public water supplies. U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 658, "The industrial utility of public water supplies in the United States, 1932" contains information pertaining to the public water supplies of 670 of the larger cities throughout the United States. This report, which is still in print and being distributed, has filled an important need in the field of water-supply engineering. The demand for more up-to-date information and more extended coverage has led to studies by the Geological Survey for revision of the information contained in the 1932 report. The revised report, which will include data pertaining to public water supplies of more than 1, 200 cities in the United States, will eventually be published as a Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper. However, in order t)lat the information might be available at the earliest possible time, nine preliminary reports are being issued which give data on the larger cities in each state. These nine reports are being released as Geological Survey Circulars, each covering a group of states as delineated by the Bureau of Census in taking the census of the population of the country. (See fig~ 1). The reports give descriptive information and analytical data for approximately three-fourths of the cities that will be included in the final report for each of the •states. This circular is the seventh of the series and includes data for the States of
The West Branch Susquehanna River is 228 miles long and drains 6,913 square miles of mountainous area in central Pennsylvania. Much of this area is forestcovered wilderness, part of which is reserved as State game land. Wild animals, such as deer, bear, turkey and grouse, are sheltered there, and many streams contain trout and other game fish. This helps to make the region one of the best hunting and fishing areas in Pennsylvania. The Congress has approved Federal funds for the construction of several reservoirs to prevent flooding of the main river and several of its tributaries. Water stored behind the dams will not be withdrawn below a minimum level designated as conservation pools. These pools will be available for recreation. Several headwater streams, such as Clearfield, Moshannon, and at times Sinnemahoning Creek, that carry drainage from coal mines are acid and contain high concentrations of dissolved solids, especially sulfates. These streams acidify the West Branch Susquehanna River downstream as far as Jersey Shore. One of the most influential tributaries affecting the quality of the West Branch Susquehanna River after they merge is Bald Eagle Creek. Bald Eagle Creek enters the main river downstream from Lock Haven which is approximately 100 river miles from the river's source. Because of its alkaline properties, water of Bald Eagle Creek can neutralize acidic water. Many streams draining small areas and several draining large areas such as Pine Creek, Lycoming Creek, and Loyalsock Creek are clear nearly neutral water low in dissolved solids whose pH is about 7.0 most of the time. These streams have a diluting and neutralizing effect on the quality of the West Branch Susquehanna River, so that from Williamsport downstream the river water is rarely acid, and for most of the time it is of good chemical quality. QUALITY OF SURFACE WATER, SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN C3 changes in a river system. These water-temperature variations endanger fish life, not only in the impounded water areas but in the stream below. This is an important reason why continuous water temperatures are desirable quality data. Documenting the changes in the water chemistry of streams that are directly related to reservoirs constructed in the West Branch Susquehanna Kiver basin and where they occur will help to locate economically the facilities needed for storing, treating, and distributing water for public, industrial, and recreational uses. The acidic character of the West Branch Susquehanna River in its upper part seldom extends into segments of the river below Jersey Shore. Below Jersey Shore the quality of the river supports aquatic life and is more suitable for industrial and domestic uses. However, wastes from some mines may extend into this part of the river occasionally, because of increased mining or because local storms wash more of the waste into receiving streams. The effects of these wastes may be far reaching if the river is at low flow and, therefore, inadequate to dilute them. This stream status, caused by streamflow and...
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