Quaker Run is a tributary of

Shamokin Creek Shamokin Creek (also known as Great Shamokin Creek or Middle Branch Shamokin Creek) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Mount Carmel, M ...

in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Kulpmont, Mount Carmel Township, and Coal Township. The watershed of the stream has an area of . The stream has one unnamed tributary. Quaker Run is designated as an impaired waterbody due to metals from abandoned mine drainage. Raw sewage and stormwater have also been discharged into it at times. The channel of Quaker Run is flanked by walls in some reaches. Iron precipitate is also caked thickly along the stream. However, a restoration project has restored part of the stream channel and constructed wetlands. The stream was one of the first places in the Southern and Middle Coal Fields of Pennsylvania where

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...

coal was discovered. A few bridges have also been constructed across the stream. The stream's watershed is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. It used to have much fish life, but as of 1999, it had none.

Course

Quaker Run begins near

Pennsylvania Route 61 Pennsylvania Route 61 (PA 61) is an state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route is signed on a north–south direction, running from U.S. Route 222 Business (US 222 Bus.) in Reading northwest to US 11/US 15/ ...

in Kulpmont. It flows southwest for a short distance and crosses Pennsylvania Route 61 before turning west-southwest for more than a mile and entering Mount Carmel Township and a valley. The stream then turns in a westerly direction for a few miles, entering Coal Township and then the census-designated place of Ranshaw. In Ranshaw, it crosses

Pennsylvania Route 901 Pennsylvania Route 901 (PA 901) is a state route located in eastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at PA 61 in the Coal Township hamlet of Ranshaw. Its eastern terminus is at PA 183 in Cressona. PA 901 runs northwest-southe ...

and reaches its confluence with Shamokin Creek. Quaker Run joins Shamokin Creek upstream of its mouth.

Tributaries

Quaker Run has no named tributaries, but it does have one unnamed tributary. This tributary is designated as impaired. This stream is locally known as "Dark Run".

Hydrology

The entirety of Quaker Run is designated as impaired due to metals and siltation from

abandoned mine drainage Abandoned mine drainage (also known as AMD) is a form of water pollution involving water that has been polluted by contact with mines, typically coal mines. Although it is sometimes called "acid mine drainage", not all abandoned mine drainage i ...

. Water from the Mid Valley Discharge in the

North Branch Shamokin Creek North Branch Shamokin Creek (also known as Beaver Creek) is a tributary of Shamokin Creek in Columbia County and Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is approximately long and flows through Conyngham Township in Columbia Count ...

watershed disappears into a mine pool due to infiltration and reappears in the watershed of Quaker Run. The Scott Ridge Mine Tunnel Discharge is in the watershed of Quaker Run, as are the Colbert Mine Breach Discharge and the Maysville Mine Borehole Discharge. Most of the stream's flow comes from these three discharges. However, it also receives flow from the Borough of Kulpmont Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

has an NPDES permit to discharge

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 ...

into the stream in Coal Township. Raw

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

has at times been discharged into the stream. In the 1980s, its waters were noted to have an odor. The water temperature of Quaker Run in 1999 and 2000 ranged from at Ranshaw and was near Kulpmont. The

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

of the stream ranged from at Ranshaw, with an average of roughly , while the specific conductance ranged from 476 to 623 micro-siemens per centimeter at . Near Kulpmont, the discharge was and the specific conductance was 619 micro-siemens per centimeter at . The pH of the stream was 6.2 near Kulpmont and 6.3 to 6.8 at Ranshaw. The

water hardness Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...

at these two sites was and , respectively. The turbidity was 22 to 43

Nephelometric Turbidity Unit Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids can c ...

s at Ranshaw and 34 Nephelometric Turbidity Unit near Kulpmont. The concentration of dissolved oxygen in Quaker Run was at Ranshaw and near Kulpmont. The carbon dioxide and nitrogen concentration were and at Ranshaw and and near Kulpmont. The concentration of phosphorus in the stream at Ranshaw was . The concentrations of silica and chloride near Kulpmont were , while the sulfate concentration was . At Ranshaw, the silica concentration was , the sulfate concentration was , and the chloride concentration was . The concentrations of sodium and potassium in the filtered water of Quaker Run at Ranshaw were and . The concentration of sodium near Kulpmont was . The concentrations of magnesium and calcium at Ranshaw were and . Near Kulpmont, the concentrations of these metals were , respectively. The iron concentration was at Ranshaw and near Kulpmont. The manganese concentration was at Ranshaw and near Kulpmont. The aluminum concentration at these locations was less than 20 to 200 micrograms per liter and 22 micrograms per liter, respectively.

Geography, geology, and watershed

The elevation near the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Quaker Run is above sea level. The elevation of the stream's source is between above sea level. Quaker Run has a thick layering of iron precipitate along its length. The layering is more thick and solidly packed than in some other nearby streams. Historically, there was a quarry near the stream. Mine complexes also extend under the stream. The

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

of Quaker Run is flanked by walls in Ranshaw. These walls are in a state of disrepair. 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 Quaker Run has an area of . The mouth of the stream is in the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Shamokin. However, its source is in the quadrangle of Mount Carmel. The Wildlife for Everyone Endowment Foundation has carried out a restoration project on Quaker Run in Coal Township. This project has restored of stream and created of wetlands. The community of Marion Heights is in the vicinity of the stream's headwaters.

History and recreation

Quaker Run was entered into the Geographic Names Information System on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1184526. In 1790, Isaac Tomlinson discovered black stones in Quaker Run, which flowed through his property. He discovered that it was possible to burn the stones, making him one of the first people to discover

coal in the Southern and Middle Coal Fields of Pennsylvania. The stream is named after the fact that Tomlinson was a member of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. Coal was later mined in the vicinity of Quaker Run by Isaac Tomlinson in 1810. Coal was also mined near the stream by John Thompson, the area's first mine operator. In the early 1900s, there were several cases for pollution in the stream. Two concrete stringer/multi-beam or girder bridges were built over Quaker Run in 1913. One is long and carries State Route 2019 in Ranshaw. The other is the same length and carries the same road. In the 1980s, a recreation area was established in a former area of stripping pits along Quaker Run. The recreational area included a baseball field and a jogging track. The 1st Annual Banks Cleanup was conducted along the stream and Shamokin Creek in May 1997. In 2014, $500,000 in grants was procured to repair the stream's channel. The Northumberland County Conservation District has also received a $79,000 Growing Greener grant to carry out a feasibility study for restoring the stream. Quaker Run, along with several other local streams, experienced significant stream channel damage during flooding in September 2011. A flood control project for the stream is scheduled to begin in 2016, with new channel walls being planned for April of that year.

Biology

The drainage basin of Quaker Run is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. Some time ago, in around 1840, the stream was "filled with trout". However, in 1999, there were no fish of any kind in the stream.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Shamokin Creek Rivers of Pennsylvania