Tributaries to Lackawanna River:  

Roaring Brook, Spring Brook and Stafford Meadow Brook

Roaring Brook is the largest tributary stream to the Lackawanna River.  It is a third order stream, approximately 18 miles long and drains a 54 sq. mile watershed in the North Pocono area of southeastern Lackawanna County.  Its upper through middle reaches are primarily forested and contain important drinking water supply reservoirs.  Pockets of rural residential development and one small Borough are found within this reach.  The lower reach runs through the City of Scranton to its confluence with the Lackawanna River, and includes the Nay Aug Gorge and Falls, listed on the National Registry of Natural Landmarks.      

Spring Brook is the second largest tributary stream to the Lackawanna River.  It is a third order stream, approximately 16 miles long and drains a 54 sq. mile watershed, also in the North Pocono area of southeastern Lackawanna County.  Like Roaring Brook, its upper through middle reaches are heavily forested with small pockets or rural residential development and important drinking water supply reservoirs.  Its lower reach runs through the Borough of Moosic to its confluence with the Lackawanna River. 

Stafford Meadow Brook is a second order tributary stream to the Lackawanna River, approximately 9 miles long, draining a 14 sq. mile watershed.  Along with Roaring Brook and Spring Brook, these three streams drain the North Pocono area of southeastern Lackawanna County.  Stafford Meadow Brook watershed is heavily forested and also contains vital drinking water supply reservoirs.  Its lower reach runs through the City of Scranton to its confluence with the Lackawanna River.

Combined, the above three streams are the raw drinking water source for approximately 300,000 residents within the Scranton-Wilkes Barre region.  All three streams are classified by DEP as either High Quality Coldwater Fisheries or Coldwater Fisheries, and support wild populations of brown and brook trout.

The Lackawanna River Corridor Association (LRCA) is a nonprofit, community-based watershed conservation organization created in 1987. The mission of the LRCA is to promote the conservation and restoration of the Lackawanna River and its watershed resources, and to educate and involve the community pro-actively with the River. The LRCA has a five hundred-member base, is governed by a thirty member volunteer board of directors and employs a professional staff of three full-time and one part-time person.

Overriding goals of the LRCA include:  environmental cleanup of the Lackawanna River, development of the forty-mile Lackawanna River Heritage Trail along the River corridor, educating the public about the valuable resource it has in the River, and promoting responsible use and development of the River and its resources by developing partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies and organizations.  Since its inception, the LRCA has advanced its goals by consensus planning and partnering to involve public and private stakeholders with projects to improve the Lackawanna River and its water resources.  Increasing the awareness of the community’s relationship to the river and its watershed has also been an important component of the LRCA’s mission.  The LRCA offers a variety of public involvement programs which provide interested individuals with opportunities to monitor water quality of the river, clean up trash, build trails, plant tress and shrubs, learn about the river’s watershed, ecology and history, and hike, bike and/or canoe the river.

Recent accomplishments include:

• Completion of a River Conservation Plan for the Lackawanna River Watershed

• Partnering with the US Army Corp of Engineers and the PA DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation on two major restoration projects on streams severely impacted by previous mining activity.

• Coordination of the pending Lackawanna-Luzerne County Open Space and Recreation Plan

• Completion of a Lackawanna River Watershed Curriculum in coordination with the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit #19 (NEIU 19).

• Completion of a professionally produced video, highlighting the Lackawanna River’s return as a viable community asset. 

In summary, the project goals of this grant include: 

• Training and technical support to volunteers monitoring water quality.

• Establishing a baseline of water quality data for streams in the Roaring Brook, Stafford Meadow Brook, and Spring Brook watersheds.

• Produce and provide presentations and educational materials on issues associated with the water quality of North Pocono streams, including the potential threats to stream health and what can be done to protect them.

• Initiating the development of materials and data needed to upgrade the classification of stream(s) in the Roaring Brook, Stafford Meadow Brook, and Spring Brook watersheds

Our data assessment will include collected physical, chemical, macroinvertebrate, and habitat data.  It is our intention to collect the type of water quality data under this grant that is required when petitioning for an upgrade in classification; data that is set forth in Title 25, Chapter 93.4b of the Pennsylvania Code. 

Though the success of this project is not necessarily dependent on the eventual upgrade in classification of Roaring Brook, Stafford Meadow Brook and Spring Brook, and/or any of their tributaries, it is our intention to bring as much attention as possible to these important water resources.  By making residents of the North Poconos aware of the importance of the water resources within their area, we will have an impact on the attitudes and stewardship responsibilities towards these resources.  An educated and informed public, supported by a trained volunteer monitoring group, will be better prepared to make decisions that lead to the conservation and protection of their water resources, as development pressure comes into conflict with water resource protection. 

Along with a more informed public, the creation of a trained volunteer monitoring group could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the grant’s purpose.  A trained group that can inform their fellow residents of the water quality conditions of the streams in their backyards and the importance of those streams, could go a long way in establishing a sense of stewardship in the region.  Also, this volunteer group would be able to collect data that would be considered accurate and could be used for future considerations.

Partnerships:  

• Lackawanna Senior Environment Corp.:  group of senior volunteers supported by the Voluntary Action Center, the Environmental Association for Senior Involvement (EASI), the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the LRCA.  Could be source of volunteers for project.

• North Pocono Watershed Coalition:  a group of residents of the North Pocono region, formed by the LRCA, as part of a Growing Greener Grant received in 2001.  Volunteer monitors could be recruited through this coalition.  This group consists of interested individuals, businesses, municipal officials, and the North Pocono Rotary Club.

• United Way, Voluntary Action Center (VAC):  recruit new volunteers for project through VAC’s existing Environment Corp.

• Department of Environmental Protection:  state agency that we would work with on the reclassification process.

• United States Geological Survey:  federal agency which the LRCA has approached to provide technical assistance with the data collection and analysis process

• University of Scranton, Biology Department:  provides LRCA with water quality laboratory facilities.  These facilities will be utilized in support of this project.

Contact info:

Bernard McGurl

Executive Director

Lackawanna River Corridor Association

PO Box 368

Scranton, PA  18501

Tel:  (570) 207-7608

Fax:  (570) 207-7590

email:  lrca@epix.net

www.lrca.org