Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association

04/01/2026

Earth Day 2026 Road Side Clean Up: Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association is having their annual "Earth Day" roadside clean up on April 25, 2026. All are welcome to join in the clean up. The clean up is both fun and satisfying. You will meet members and learn more about our organization. Participants are provided with gloves, orange traffic safety vests and heavy duty garbage bags. We recommend you dress weather appropriately and wear boots. Members provide coffee and donuts. The clean up takes about three hours. We start at 9 AM. If you are interested in more information please email [email protected].

The pictures are from last year's clean up. We covered parts Summit City Road, Phipps Road and Rankin Chapel Road.

The coverage map and a few clean up pictures are included in this post.

Our thanks to for their support, supplies and services.

03/18/2026

An Important Milestone to Celebrate

The Scrubgrass Creek watershed encompasses 25,400 square acres. It was once one of the best trout streams in Western Pennsylvania. Before 1955, people were shoulder to shoulder along the creek on the first day of trout season. About 25% of the watershed was mined from 1950 through 1993. A 1958 study revealed that the stream was void of insect life and the appearance was turbid with evidence of heavy iron precipitation and oil slicks on the stream bottom. Aluminum discharges robbed trout of the ability to breathe. The creek was DEAD.

Today, that story is changing. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association, supportive landowners and strategic partners, the Scrubgrass Creek is coming back to life. The 2026 Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Trout Stream's report reclassified Scrubgrass Creek as a Natural Reproduction Trout Stream. The reclassification is based upon Brown Trout collected during a 2025 survey. This is an exciting start and proof that the Association's acid mine drainage treatment facilities are key to the watershed's long term recovery

Because of the many volunteers and partners who gave their time and energy, these waterways are recovering and thriving again. While there is much work ahead, today we celebrate an incredible milestone — and the reminder that these streams are worth protecting.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. We still have much work to return the watershed to its former glory.

03/18/2026

The Venango Conservation District is actively engaged in environmental education in our local communities. In their words "Environmental education helps individuals, organizations, and their communities learn more about environmental processes, develop investigative skills to identify problems, and form conclusions in order to make intelligent and informed decisions about how they can take care of it."

Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association member voted to be a sponsor for the VENANGO COUNTY ENVIROTHON. The Venango County Envirothon is an annual, hands‑on environmental education competition that inspires high school students grades 9 -12th to explore, understand, and protect our natural resources. Organized by the Venango Conservation District in partnership with local and state
environmental agencies, the event challenges students from throughout
Venango County to step out of the classroom and into the field to tackle
real‑world environmental challenges.

We are very excited about this unique event. You may be interested in this event as well as sponsorship potential. Please click to learn more.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the Venango County Envirothon, being a sponsor for the annual event, or would like more information, please contact: Rebecca Fagley Envirothon...

03/17/2026

We had a site sampling and workday last Tuesday. Both sites had great flow and very good chemistry. The inflow PH is in the threes and the outflows in the sevens. We still have an issue with one of the Sterrett gate valves. A temporary fix is still working. The site will undergo a major improvement later this year. I attached four work day images. The red meter is used to measure PH. The filled glass cylinder is used to measure alkalinity.

I added two settlement pond images. The bluish water color is from the aluminum dropping/precipitating out of the treated water. This heavy metal is captured in the settlement pond so it does not reach Scrubgrass Creek. The limestone treatment beds reacts with mine drainage acid to raise pH, raising alkalinity and decreasing metal solubility, which causes metals to precipitate as hydroxides (as told by the scientists). The pond closeup shows reed stalks covered by the precipitate...very eerie looking.

01/15/2026

Site monitoring and maintenance continue even in winter. Members were on site earlier this week. The association gives attaboys to Tom and Logan for the temporary fix on the Sterrett site's north treatment outflow (green pipe picture). The control gate failed last fall. This negatively impacted the limestone treatment process. Logan and Tom added a bend and raised the riser to keep enough water in the treatment bed. We tested the outflow's PH and it is performing. The water's PH is increasing from 3 to 7. PH 7 is a healthy trout stream where fish can survive, thrive and reproduce. PH 3 is biologically catastrophic for trout. Trout cannot survive and reproduction is impossible.

01/15/2026

Rebecca with the Venango County Conservation District shared the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's trout stocking information link. The link contains several interactive maps, stocking schedule, and changes to the program (addition or removal of trout stocked waterways). Please keep in mind these lists are from 2025. The 2026 schedule/list pertaining to stockings has not been made available yet.

I know it's only 12 degrees outside but someone is always thinking about the next trout season. I also frequently see ice fishing on both Lake Wilhelm and Lake Arthur. That is dedication......

Thanks to Rebecca.

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/fishing/stocking/trout-stocking

11/07/2025

Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Associations gratefully thanks the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandon Mine's for providing staff, services and equipment to clean the Sterrett acid mine drainage ground water collection systems. The high levels of ground water iron leaves a yellow-orange sludge in the collection pipes. The PA DEP uses a high water pressure cleaning process to flush the sludge into the limestone treatment beds. The cleaning keeps the treatment system working. Again, our thanks for the PA Department of Environmental Protection and their dedicated staff.

09/25/2025

These are pictures of the two Sterrett limestone treatment beds and the settlement pond. The acid mine drainage flows into the beds from the blue PVC pipes. After a week the water flows into the settlement pond. The pond's blue/green color is from the aluminum removed from the treated water. The red rock in the limestone treatment bed is the iron removed from the acid mine drainage.

09/25/2025

The Scrubgrass Watershed members operate, maintain and gather data from each site. Last week and this week members worked on repairing the north bed flow control system and grounds keeping. Some were in chest deep....

09/01/2025

On Friday the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission awarded Scrubgrass Creek Watershed Association a very significant grant to improve the Sterrett acid mine drainage treatment system. The grant funds performance improvements and reduces future operating and maintenance costs. The Sterrett site addresses non-point source pollution reduction and it is supporting the creation of recreational activity (fishing in Scrubgrass Creek). The importance of treatment at the Sterrett site has been referenced at several watershed studies and most recently by the Venango County Planning Commission’s assessment of AMD and AML issues in Scrubgrass and South Sandy Creeks.

The Watershed members are grateful for this grant. Let's all celebrate.