Tioga River

Tioga River

LOCATION
1. The Tioga River Watershed is located in Tioga and Bradford Counties about 35 miles north of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
2. It originates in Armenia Township, Bradford County and travels southwest towards the town of Blossburg.
  1. In Blossburg, the Tioga turns direction and flows north through Mansfield and into the Tioga/Hammond Dam Complex.
3. The Tioga River can be accessed by traveling on US Route 15 north from Williamsport, Pennsylvania or south from Corning, New York.
4. The Tioga River flows through the Northcentral Bituminous Coalfield in northcentral Pennsylvania.
5. Tributary of the Chemung River
POLUTION
1. The Tioga River Watershed is affected by pollution from AMD.
2. This pollution has caused high levels of metals and low pH in the mainstem of Tioga River and in some of its tributaries.
3. From historical records and field observations, it was determined that the majority of AMD degradation in the watershed is due to abandoned deep mines in the Morris Run, Fall Brook, Bear Creek, Coal Creek and Johnson Creek subwatersheds
4. The bituminous coal region is characterized by strip and drift mining of coal seams that are horizontal in orientation. This often resulted in fairly level underground tunnels running for miles, as coal was mined along a particular seam. After the mine workings had been abandoned, the tunnels often collapsed, filled up with water, and some now discharge to the surface. Many of these discharges are very large and are responsible for much of the water quality impairment in the region.
5. In the Tioga River Watershed, many of the tunnels were used to dewater the mines and to allow airflow into the mines. They were dug in an upslope direction, allowing gravity to dewater the mines. This type of drainage tunnel can be particularly difficult to treat because they often drain large volumes of water from a large underground area.
AREA
1. Land Use (2006): Forest: 87.76% Grassland/Herbaceous: 9.10% Agricultural: 4.88% Developed: 0.28% Barren/Extractive: 0.04% Water: 0.77% Wetlands: 0.17%
2. Major population centers in the watershed include the towns of Blossburg and Mansfield. Other smaller residential areas occur throughout the watershed.
3. Many of the dwellings found in the upper section of the watershed are used as seasonal camps, with much of the land owned by absentee landowners, coal company trusts or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
4. It drains a region of ridges in the northern Allegheny Plateau in the watershed of the Susquehanna River.
5. Population (2010): 401
DRAINAGE CHARACTERISTICS
1. Monitored Drainage Area: 13.5 square miles
2. Total Stream Length: 24 miles
  1. 24 miles are designated as Warm Water Fisheries
3. 4.2 miles impaired by Atmospheric Deposition
4. Average Annual Flow at Station (NHD): 18.8 cubic feet per second (cfs)
5. Maximum Flow Time from Headwaters: 8 hrs. 33 min.
6. Natural Gas Drilling Pads (as tracked by SRBC): 5
7. Permitted Natural Gas Water Withdrawals: 0 Frac Water Withdrawals
8. Public Water Supply: 1 Groundwater Withdrawals
9. Underlying Geology: Sandstone

Next up

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by owen.ward1 over 9 years ago