South Fayette Conservation Group

Working to ensure the conservation, protection and enhancement
of our natural and recreational resources

Gladden Discharge Passive Treatment System - Design Phase

The Gladden Discharge in located on private property at the bottom of a steep hillside in the Gladden area of South Fayette Township.  Abandoned Mine Discharge, in this case water heavily polluted with iron, is bubbling up to the surface from the mine shafts located underneath.

Thanks to Pa DEP BAMR, the SFCG was able to borrow a continuous automated flow data recorder for the discharge site.  This sonar device took hourly readings of the amount of water bubbling up to the surface and draining down towards Millers Run Creek.   This information was necessary in order to develop a treatment system for this problem.

As you can see, the water immediately downstream of the discharge site is not suitable for sustaining aquatic life.  The SFCG worked with professional design and water quality testing firms to prepare a solution to the problem;

The Gladden discharge is the primary pollutant in the Lower Chartiers Creek Watershed contributing 60% of the iron loading and 70% of the acidity loading.

Restoration of the Fishing Run stream channel and the remediation of the Gladden discharge will restore approximately four devastated miles of Millers Run, greatly improving the quality of water within the Lower Chartier's Creek Watershed. 

June 2009 Update:

The South Fayette Conservation Group is pleased to announce the completion of a design option for the Gladden Discharge Passive Treatment System. The proposed treatment system, as currently designed, would remove approximately 90% of the iron loading from Millers Run under average flow conditions. The project, totaling $157,020.00, was completely financed by a Growing Greener Grant provided by the Department of Environmental Protection and includes an anoxic limestone drain, two settlement ponds, a sludge drying pond and enhanced aeration. Further surface stream loss remediation work within the mine pool area is being proposed by the South Fayette Conservation Group prior to application for construction funding of the treatment system. This additional work could result in an added benefit of reducing the treatment size to a point where the system would sufficiently restore Millers Run, a major goal of the SFCG and the PA DEP.

Learn more about AMD at http://amrclearinghouse.org/Sub/AMDbasics/