Lithia Springs Creek (also known as Johnsons Run or Lithia Spring Creek) is a tributary of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its county seat is Sunbury. The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancas ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Point Township. The watershed of the creek has an area of . It has a named tributary known as Johnson Creek. Waste of various types is discharged into Lithia Springs Creek from a variety of sources. At least one bridge more than long crosses the creek. The creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It is inhabited by wild trout and possibly a few other species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

Course

Lithia Springs Creek begins near Hookies Road on

Montour Ridge Montour may refer to: Places in the United States * Montour, Iowa * Montour, New York * Montour Falls, New York * Montour County, Pennsylvania * Montour Lake, in Montour County, Pennsylvania * Montour Run, a tributary of Fishing Creek in Columbia C ...

in Point Township. It flows south and slightly west for a few tenths of a mile before turning southeast and receiving an unnamed tributary. It then turns north and slightly west again, receiving Johnson Creek, its only named tributary, after a few tenths of a mile. The creek, then turns west for a few hundred feet before turning south for more than a mile, passing by the community of Lithia Springs. At this point, it turns west and then roughly south-southwest, crossing

US Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

. Some distance later, the creek reaches its confluence with the

. Lithia Springs Creek joins the Susquehanna River upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Lithia Springs Creek has one named tributary and a number of unnamed tributaries. The named tributary is known as Johnson Creek. Johnson Creek joins Lithia Springs Creek upstream of its mouth. Its watershed has an area of .

Geography

The elevation at the mouth of Lithia Springs Creek is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The elevation of the creek's source is between and above sea level. There is an unnamed

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

canal in the vicinity of Lithia Springs Creek. The headwaters of the creek are on Montour Ridge. An unnamed

swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

is also located in the watershed. Lithia Springs Creek enters the Susquehanna River on the river's

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

. The Lithia Spring Sewer Project discharges water into Lithia Springs Creek, as well as its tributary Johnson Creek. The Tulpehocken Water Company discharges

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...

into an unnamed tributary of Lithia Springs Creek.

Watershed

The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of Lithia Springs Creek has an area of . Both the mouth and the source of the creek are in the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

quadrangle of Northumberland. An industrial area owned by the North Shore Railroad Company is in the vicinity of Lithia Springs Creek. The industrial area runs from the creek to Bulk Plant Road and has the potential to be expanded. A tract of land that has been zoned for R-1 development spans an area from immediately west of the creek eastwards to Ridge Road. Some of this land, especially in the community of Lithia Springs and near Ridge Road has been developed residentially, but there is potential for further residential development in the area, especially near the creek itself.

History

According to an article by Don Steese in '' The Daily Item'', Lithia Springs Creek may have been stocked for a short time by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a separ ...

in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

was constructed on Lithia Springs Creek in 1960 for the purpose serving as a

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

. The dam was made of concrete and was tall. However, it was torn down due to economic and safety concerns. The

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

of the creek was improved as a result. Lithia Springs Creek was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1179453. A prestressed box beam bridge was built over Lithia Springs Creek in 1991. It is long and carries Point Township Road T-702. There was historically a building belonging to a

water company The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy. Typically public utilities operate water supply networks. The water industry doe ...

on the creek. However, it is no longer standing. The construction of a

sewage treatment plant Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

on the creek was proposed in the 1960s.

Biology

Wild

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

naturally reproduce in Lithia Springs Creek between its upper reaches and the bridge that carries US Route 11 over the creek. The trout inhabit a total of of the creek. It is on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's list of wild trout streams. The creek is considered to be a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It is described as "nice little trout stream" by Don Steese in an article in ''The Daily Item''. Small shiners and

creek chub ''Semotilus'' is the genus of creek chubs, ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The term "creek chub" is sometimes used for individual species, particularly the common creek chub, ''S. atromaculatus''. The creek chub species of minnows can ...

s have historically been observed and caught in it.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of the Susquehanna River Rivers of Pennsylvania