JOHNSON RUN
The proposal for this project was submitted in March of 2001 as a Growing Greener (Round 3) grant. The passive mine drainage treatment system will treat the two worst discharges to Johnson Run, a tributary of the East Branch of the Clarion River in Elk County. This project resulted from recommendations in the East Branch Lake and Johnson Run Restoration Plan, developed by Hedin Environmental in 2000.
The picture above shows the self-flushing limestone bed discharge to the settling pond. The pond appears green/blue as a result of aluminum solids. This self-flusher / pond combination reduces the aluminum from approximately 30 mg/L to less than 10 mg/L under normal flow conditions. Water treated by the self-flusher is then sent to the vertical flow pond. This was done in order to extend the service life of the VFP.
In April 2001, DEP notified Northcentral, the Elk County Fishermen, and Hedin Environmental that the project had been funded under the WRPA program (Federal EPA). This allowed work to begin immediately. Design and mapping work took place throughout the summer and fall of 2001.
Construction on the project began in spring of 2002 and was completed that summer. Groves Excavating of Falls Creek, PA was the construction contractor. The project consists of a pre-treatment limestone self-flushing pond, a settling pond for the self-flushing unit, a collection dam, a vertical flow pond (VFP) with compost and limestone, a flushing/settling pond, and a compost wetland.
Since the construction of the project, sampling results in the watershed indicate a vast improvement over pre-project conditions. The unnamed tributary to Johnson Run has be measured with a pH above 6.0. Prior to the project, the pH was never above 3.5 at this location. Improvements in water quality have also been noted at the mouth of Johnson Run.
This photo shows the VFP during construction. A network of flush plumbing was placed 1' from the top of the limestone, which was covered with compost.
Volunteers from the Elk County Fishermen are shown planting cattails in
the final wetland.
