Tag Archives: Coal Creek

Uncategorized, Water

Local Students Explore Water Quality with Gnolli and the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy

Gnolli, the Tioga River Gnome, recently joined the 2024–2025 class of the Tioga County Partnership for Community Health’s Youth Leadership Program at their final session. High school juniors and seniors from across Tioga County spent the day learning about watersheds, water quality, abandoned mine drainage (AMD), and the importance of community involvement in conservation.

Students test pH with red cabbage juice and learn how abandoned mines affect local waterways.

Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) Board Member and former Southern Tioga School District science teacher, Julie Weaver, led students through an activity exploring water pH.

pH is a measure of how acidic or basic water is. Because pH is affected by the chemicals present, it’s an important indicator of whether the water is undergoing chemical changes. The pH level also determines how much of a substance can dissolve in the water and how accessible that substance is to aquatic life.

pH is one of the key indicators used when studying abandoned mine drainage.

Metals like aluminum become more toxic at lower pH levels because more of the metal dissolves into the water under acidic conditions.

After discussing how abandoned mines can affect water quality, students used red cabbage juice to test the pH of various liquids. One of the samples was water from Coal Creek. Other samples included lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, milk, pond water, rainwater (there was plenty of that this month), baking soda, and soda pop. In case you’re curious, Coal Creek’s water typically has a pH between 2.7 and 3.0, according to Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) data. For comparison, baking soda has a pH of 8.5, and dairy milk has a pH of 6.5.

When red cabbage juice was added, acidic liquids turned red, while less acidic (more basic) substances turned blue.

The amateur scientists walked away with a better understanding of pH and how water can be impacted by abandoned mines—and Gnolli had a chance to make some new friends!

Thank you to the Tioga County Conservation District, Tioga County Commissioners Shane Nickerson and Sam VanLoon, and Blossburg Mayor Tim Martin for including NPC—and Gnolli!

Coal Creek Connections: How NPC Is Helping Restore the Tioga River

For years, abandoned mine drainage has flowed from closed coal mines into the Tioga River from at Fall Brook, Morris Run, and Coal Creek. To support long-term restoration efforts, NPC acquired the Coal Creek property. This key site provides access to the largest mine discharge in the Tioga River watershed. That access is essential to designing and implementing real solutions to clean the water and restore aquatic life. 

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Rivers, Coal & Crafts: Exploring the Past, Celebrating the Future 

Blossburg’s rich coal mining history and the ongoing restoration of the Tioga River are coming together! Rivers, Coal & Crafts is an exciting series of community events launching this spring. The series will connect residents and visitors with the land, water, and stories that shape this region.  

Through hands-on workshops, craft projects, and storytelling, participants of all ages will learn about the decades-long impacts of Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) on the Tioga River—and how local partnerships are working to restore the Tioga River and its landscape. 

Gnolli the Tioga River Gnome takes in the view along Coal Creek. He was created during the first event in the Rivers, Coal & Crafts series—a Make-A-Long celebrating the story of the river at the Blossburg Company Store.

For years, AMD has flowed from closed coal mines into the Tioga River from Fall Brook, Morris Run, and Coal Creek. The AMD includes iron and heavy metals. The Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy (NPC) became involved in the River’s recovery by acquiring the Coal Creek property. This key site provides access to the largest mine discharge in the Tioga River watershed. That access is essential to designing and implementing real solutions to clean the water and restore aquatic life. 

As restoration work continues, the Rivers, Coal & Crafts series offers an exciting way for the community and visitors to follow along and get involved! Check the NPC events page for additional event updates.

These events are made possible through funding from: 

To make these projects possible, NPC is partnering with: 

Meet Gnolli the Tioga River Gnome!

The first event was a Make-A-Long workshop at the Blossburg Company Store. Participants crocheted and knitted their own Tioga River Gnomes while learning about the river’s story. The project used mini-skeins dyed to represent the river’s restoration journey— 
🪨 Grey for coal 
🧡 Orange for sulfuric acid 
🌊 Blue for clean water 
🌱 Green for the return of aquatic plants 
✨ and a Speckled skein for the transition in between! 

One generous attendee, Donna Lougher, chose to gift their gnome to NPC—and that’s how Gnolli came to be! 

Now, Gnolli (pronounced “NOLL-ee”) is the official mascot of the Rivers, Coal & Crafts series. He’ll be traveling to events and restoration sites throughout the year, helping share the story of Coal Creek and the Tioga River! 

Follow along on social media with #GnollisQuest to keep up with his journey through coal country and conservation!

Conservation Project, On the Blog

Survey Ribbons Marks Progress

By Renee’ Carey

You can measure progress in a lot of different ways. One way we’re measuring the progress of cleaning up the Tioga River’s Abandoned Mine Drainage is the colors of survey ribbon on the Coal Creek property. The design for the Active Treatment Plant (ATP) for the Tioga River clean-up is underway and you can see signs of the design process in pink, orange, and blue tied to tree branches and pinned to the ground.

With the help and support of our members and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, we purchased the Coal Creek property in May 2022 to ensure construction access to the largest discharge in the watershed (on a neighboring property). Last week, in January 2023, I spent a little time on the property before a meeting in Blossburg.

The surveyors have been hard at work. There were different colors of ribbon marking roads, paths, and flow paths. I have no idea what they were actually surveying and working through, and that’s okay. I was just super excited to see the ribbon and all the colors of ribbon.

To me, this is the next step. There are people on the ground gathering information and plotting out aspects of the ideas and concepts being considered. Progress!

The engineering firm is on schedule for wrapping up the design work this fall. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission estimates construction of the plant should start next year and cleaner water should be flowing into the Tioga River in two years.

Thank you to all the members and partners that are making this project a reality!

The sunset as I was walking out had similar shades to the survey ribbon!