Restoring the Catawissa Creek to
Pure Water
The Mission
Established in 1997 the Catawissa Creek Restoration Association (CCRA) aims to reduce and/or eliminate the sources of acid mine drainage (AMD) and restore water quality and viable fishery.
Image of the Catawissa Creek Watershed courtesy of EPCAMR
The Catawissa Creek Watershed
The word “Catawese” occurs in several of the Indigenous dialects, meaning “pure water”.
The Catawissa Creek is primarily a forested area interspersed with farms and small communities. The stream has been polluted by acid mine drainage (AMD) and was almost devoid of aquatic life. A total of five mine drainage discharges adversely affect the Catawissa Creek directly or via feeder creeks.
Nearly 30 Years of Progress
Initial efforts to improve water quality in the Catawissa creek included volunteer water quality monitoring which led to limestone sand dosing of the stream. This process involves dumping hundreds of tons of high-quality limestone. This proved too cumbersome to continue but it did demonstrate the neutralizing capacity of the limestone on the Creeks facility.
The CCRA established a PA Department of Environmental Protection approved watershed restoration plan. This plan addresses the five mine drainage tunnels that are the sources of AMD pollution in the stream. Since the chemistry of all five discharges were similar (i.e. 4–5 PH, 1–6 milligrams per liter of aluminum, and virtually no iron), limestone-based treatment systems were designed to address the discharges.
Over the past 25 years the CCRA has established 3 major treatment sites that account for cleaning 85% of the acid mine drainage in the creek. Today, residents along the creek are reporting aquatic life returning to the creek.
Today, residents in the watershed are reporting aquatic life returning to the stream.
What We’ve Achieved So Far
Encouraged Catawissa Creek Fisheries Management Report which acted as a baseline report of the health of the creek.
Constructed the Oneida #1 Treatment System that treats about 2,500 gallons per minute (gpm) of contaminated water. This project was in partnership with EPCAMR
Raised $2.1 million due to the success of the Oneida #1 treatment system for the construction of the Audenreid treatment system
Constructed the Audenreid treatment system which treats 9,000 GPM of acid mine water.
Constructed the Oneida #3 Treatment System that treats about 3,000 gpm of mine water.
Our Current Project
Establishing public access for fishing and boating on this beautiful waterway.
Join the CCRA
Interested in being a part of the creek restoration? Donate and/or become a member with our easy-to-use form below. This site is secured and the transaction is encrypted for the protection of your personal information.
By becoming a member of the CCRA, your membership fee assists in furthering the mission of clean creek water and opening public access points along the Catawissa Creek.
The CCRA meets monthly every third Thursday of each month via Zoom or in person at the Columbia County Conservation District. You will be added to the meeting email invites when you join. Members are not required to attend meetings.
We truly appreciate your support and donations.
Questions? Reach out! Email us at catawissacreek@gmail.com
Join our next meeting
The CCRA meets monthly every third Thursday of each month at 6pm via Zoom or in person at the Catawissa Township Municipal Building. You will be added to the meeting email invites when you join. Members are not required to attend meetings. Email catawissacreek@gmail.com for more info or if you are having trouble with accessing the meeting via the link below.