A $70,000 research project by the Turtle Creek Watershed showed orange water flowing out of Tinkers Run into Brush Creek.
Jim Brucker, President of the Turtle Creek Watershed, said he’s been working on this project for 40 years and that it is sulfur, aluminum and iron coming from the old mines 100 feet below the water.
“The water flushes it out of the mines, a big pool underneath it like a lake underground,” said Brucker.
They’ve discovered the pH of the water is close to that of battery acid, making it dangerous to swim, kayak, or fish in the stream.
Thanks to the research done by the watershed, a $20–$30 million treatment plant is now going to be built to change the orange water back to blue.
“We are going to do two things. We are studying it now. We are either going to pipe the creek up to the proposed treatment plant, or we are going to drill down at the site and pump the water out of the pool or lake beneath us,” said Brucker.
Westmoreland County purchased a 50-acre patch of land behind the Irwin Sportsman Club that will be used for the plant.
Because this is the largest mine outbreak in the state, the Department of Environmental Protection will also step in to help.
“At the end, the DEP will operate the treatment plant and pay for its operations, so it won’t cost the people anything,” said Brucker.
Once the waters are clear, the Pennsylvania Fishing Commission will fill the waters with trout, and folks in Irwin will be able to fish, kayak, and swim in the waters for the first time in years.
That facility should be built within the next 5 years.
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