The Indiana County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps collects water quality data on local streams and partners with various watershed groups and county agencies concerning environmental issues.

Some of these agencies and groups include the Indiana County Soil Conservation District, local watershed organizations, Trout Unlimited, Pa. Game Commission, Indiana County Planning Commission, county commissioners, Homer City Historical Society, Evergreen Conservancy, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Indiana County League of Women Voters and the K-C Stream Team.

The group publishes a monthly newsletter and holds meetings for its own corps, which also act as a forum for watershed groups in the county where they can learn about and exchange information on various activities that are taking place.

The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps volunteers have been monitoring Big Run with Stream Team since 1999, and started monitoring with kits in 2004. Big Run is located in Conemaugh Township in southern Indiana County, and is a tributary to the Blacklegs Creek.

According to Chapter 93 Water Quality Standards, Blacklegs Creek (basin), and thus Big Run, is designated as a cold-water fishery. Big Run is listed on the 2006 Integrated Water Body list, as a Category 5 water body with pollutants requiring a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Abandoned mine drainage impairs Big Run for metals and pH.

Data collected by the Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps in the Blacklegs Creek Watershed has been used to supplement historical data for the area to assist grant writing efforts to obtain funds for remediation projects, as well as to assist the engineering design of AMD treatment systems.

The Blacklegs Creek Watershed Association has been involved in several AMD treatment systems along Big Run (named Big Run #2, #7 and #8), and the watershed association has requested that the corps continue the monthly water monitoring at a site downstream of the projects. This downstream site is referred to as “Big Run #10,” and the intent of monitoring here is to assess the efficacy of the upstream treatment systems.

Due to the presence of acid mine drainage impacts, the corps is monitoring a different set of parameters than is normally used in the program. These parameters include: air and water temperature, pH, conductivity, alkalinity, sulfates, aluminum, total iron, ferrous iron, manganese, total acidity and flow rate.

The corps has been monitoring this site since September 2004; additional parameters related to acid mine drainage impacts have been monitored since February 2006.

A review of the data that has been collected thus far indicates that the pH in Big Run may be gradually increasing. By 2006, the pH values appear to be falling within a more acceptable range. Chapter 93 water quality standards state that streams designated as cold water fisheries require a pH range between 6.0-9.0.

According to the group’s data, pH values fell below the water quality standards from 2004 until early 2006.

In January 2006, the pH met the standard although values continued to vary above and below the standard after that time. Data shows that from September 2004 through August 2005, the pH values ranged from 3.3 to 5.6 with a median pH value of 4.35. Data from January 2006 through November 2006 ranged from 4.5 to 6.9 with a median pH value of 5.7.

Big Run #2 was made operational in 2006. Big Run #7 and Big Run #8 projects are still underway. Big Run #7 is expected to be finished in 2007 and Big Run #8 in 2008. Although the pH appears to be increasing gradually, additional monitoring will be needed to verify that this trend holds true.

The Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps has monitored total iron and ferrous iron since 2004 and both parameters show a decreasing trend since early 2006. Due to the short period of time over which this monitoring has been taking place, additional monitoring will be needed to verify that the observed trend holds true.

Deep mine discharges from each of the Big Run sites are sent through a limestone treatment area. The limestone is intended to increase the pH causing the iron (and other metals) to settle out. Higher pH values can be seen to correlate with lower iron levels at Big Run #10 downstream of the treatment systems.

So far, the Big Run #2 Treatment site has reduced iron approximately by 1.8 tons per year and approximately 7 tons of aluminum per year.

4/6/2007