Text and photos by Donna Carnahan
Watershed Specialist for Clearfield County
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November 2, 2001 Clearfield County Conservation District held
an Appreciation Day for the landowners, volunteers and other
organizations that were involved in the Hubler Run Mine Drainage
Abatement project. County Commissioner John Sughrue was on hand
to present the certificates of appreciation to the partners
in this worthwhile project. Hubler Run is a tributary that flows
into Alder Run which empties into the Upper West Branch Susquehanna
River Basin, and it is located in Graham Township, Clearfield
County. Strip mining in the past has left many acid mine drainage
seeps along with areas with very sparse vegetation. A wetland
passive treatment system is being used to treat many of the
seeps in the headwaters.
he
system is designed to treat 3 separate seeps. One seep discharges
into a limestone pond, gains alkalinity and the water is directed
to a wetland cell. The other two seeps are intercepted by a
limestone channel. This channel is divided into two separate
segments. The top portion is narrow to capture the seeps. The
lower portion is wider so the water has more contact with the
alkaline material. This alkaline water is also directed to a
wetland cell. The water then moves into another wetland for
final metal removal and then discharged into Hubler Run.
Click on the image to enlarge
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project involved many partners. In March 1998 the Central
Counties Concerned Sportsmen were contacted by the West
Branch Sportsmen's Club that they were interested in restoring
Hubler Run to a stocked trout fishery. An assessment was
completed with help from NRCS, DEP-Hawk Run, PA Fish and
Boat Commission, Canaan Valley Institute, West Branch
Sportsmen's Club and many dedicated volunteers from the
Hubler Run Watershed Association who took monthly water
and flow samples. A passive system was designed by Skelly
and Loy with assistance from Freshwater Institute. The
contractor was EM Brown from Clearfield. The system and
Hubler Run is going to be monitored by volunteers from
the Hubler Run Watershed Association and the Clearfield
County Senior Environmental Corps for water quality and
macroinvertebrates.
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most important partners in the whole project were the
landowners. Without their donation of their land this
project would never have been possible. The Clearfield
County Conservation District would like to thank them
along with the volunteers who spent countless hours constructing
weirs and obtaining water quality sampling. We hope this
is just the beginning of remediation of abandoned mine
drainage in Clearfield County.
n
November 2, 2001 Clearfield County Conservation District held
an Appreciation Day for the landowners, volunteers and other
organizations that were involved in the Hubler Run Mine Drainage
Abatement project. County Commissioner John Sughrue was on hand
to present the certificates of appreciation to the partners
in this worthwhile project. Hubler Run is a tributary that flows
into Alder Run which empties into the Upper West Branch Susquehanna
River Basin, and it is located in Graham Township, Clearfield
County. Strip mining in the past has left many acid mine drainage
seeps along with areas with very sparse vegetation. A wetland
passive treatment system is being used to treat many of the
seeps in the headwaters. 
he
system is designed to treat 3 separate seeps. One seep discharges
into a limestone pond, gains alkalinity and the water is directed
to a wetland cell. The other two seeps are intercepted by a
limestone channel. This channel is divided into two separate
segments. The top portion is narrow to capture the seeps. The
lower portion is wider so the water has more contact with the
alkaline material. This alkaline water is also directed to a
wetland cell. The water then moves into another wetland for
final metal removal and then discharged into Hubler Run.
