Contaminant Loading 
- measured rates (pounds per day of pollution) 

Bar graph of Fe (iron) loading from each discharge site

The Gladden discharge into Millers Run is responsible for this iron loading, as the bar graph above illustrates.  The Gladden discharge is responsible for 60 % of the iron loading and 70% of the acidity loading to Chartiers Creek in this section of the stream.  Besides degrading 3 miles of Millers Run, the Gladden discharge degrades the entire Chartiers Creek downstream of Millers Run.  This is where the Chartiers acquires its characteristic brown color.  Cleaning up Chartiers Creek must include the remediation of the Gladden AMD.

The bar graph below dramatically illustrates that the Presto-Sygan discharge contributes 87% of the aluminum loading to Chartiers Creek, increasing Chartier's instream concentration of aluminum.

Bar graph of aluminum (Al) loading from each discharge site

 

Impact on Stream Water Chemistry

Graph of in stream iron (Fe) concentration in Chartiers Creek

In stream iron concentration (Fe) for Chartiers Creek peaks at the confluence with Millers Run tributary as shown in the graph, above.  Warm Water Fishery in-stream limit for iron concentration is 1.5 mg/L, as shown by the yellow line.  Chartiers Creek is out of compliance from Miller's Run, affecting all downstream chemistry and aesthetics. Wingfield is the first discharge to affect the Chartiers, and Allegheny Land Trust has a plan in place to remediate this discharge.  A Growing Greener grant to the South Fayette Conservation Group, funded by the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation to seal the mine entrance and rebuild the stream channel at Fishing Run should reduce the Gladden discharge. 

Warm Water Fishery in-stream limit for aluminum concentration is 0.75 mg/L, as shown by the yellow line in the graph, below, of in-stream aluminum concentration (Al) for Chartiers Creek. After Gladden, Presto-Sygan is the second largest source of pollution in the lower watershed. Combined with Millers Run, it creates a significant impact on Chartiers Creek. 

In stream aluminum (Al) concentrations in Chartiers Creek