Two Lick Creek

Two Lick Creek, an approximately 190 square mile drainage basin located in Indiana County , is the largest tributary of Blacklick Creek. Two Lick Creek has been plagued with abandoned mine drainage (AMD) throughout much of its length. This pollution had rendered it virtually lifeless in places. However natural processes and AMD remediation projects completed by the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) have improved portions of Two Lick Creek to the point that fish populations, including a large population of reproductive trout, are decolonizing areas previously devoid of such communities. The largest stretch of this improved water lies between the Two Lick Reservoir and the town of Homer City.

Two Lick Reservoir was built by the owners of the Homer City Generating Station (Pennsylvania Electric Company and New York Gas and Electric Company) and was placed into service in 1969. The original purpose of the reservoir was to provide sufficient quantities of water for production use at the Homer City Generating Station during times of significant drought thereby keeping the station online.

Within the last decade, it also has been serving in another capacity as an AMD treatment system. Two Lick Creek enters Two Lick Reservoir and is retained which allows it to precipitate its high metal concentration. Water then exits Two Lick Reservoir possessing high pH (6.5-7.5) and alkalinity concentrations and very low metal (iron, aluminum, and manganese) concentrations. This along with the underflow exit of the water creates a high quality, cold water, tailrace fishery for approximately eight miles down to the very large Risinger Discharge that once again pollutes Two Lick Creek with excessive amounts of AMD to its confluence with Yellow Creek.

Due to this improvement, several sportsmen’s clubs began stocking Two Lick in an effort to establish a viable trout fishery in this once heavily polluted stream. Not only did trout decolonize Two Lick Creek, but they also began to reproduce successfully. On August 13^th, 2002 several members of the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited (KSTU) assisted Tom Clark , the Indiana County Watershed Specialist, and Dr. William Brenneman , Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Biology Professor, on a fish electro-shocking survey of Two Lick Creek to document this reproductive population. Numerous young of the year brown trout were collected, along with older age classes of wild brown trout, in a relatively short section of Two Lick Creek. Because of this, a petition was sent to and approved by PA DEP to study Two Lick Creek for an upgrade to HQ status. They are currently completing this study. In addition, the PA Fish and Boat Commission (PAFBC) was notified of the incredible improvement to Two Lick Creek’s wild trout population and, consequently, conducted a fish population survey of the stream in the summer of 2004 where highly successful brown trout reproduction was documented.

Even though this eight mile section of Two Lick Creek has improved to the point that a population of reproductive trout now exists, it is still not without problems. AMD, agricultural runoff, reservoir flow fluctuations, access, and storm water non-point source pollution (NPS) still can be found along Two Lick Creek, limiting the potential of this invaluable stream.

Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Mission : Ken Sink Trout Unlimited’s mission is to conserve, protect and restore Indiana County , Pennsylvania ’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds

Goals: Current focus is on improving the vastly enhanced Two Lick Creek Watershed.

Number of Members: 160

Prior Accomplishments: AMD treatment systems and habitat enhancements on the 4.1 Mile Stretch of DHFFO on Little Mahoning Creek. Also, Habitat enhancements projects on Cush Creek, Brush Creek, and the South Branch of Two Lick Creek and the formation of the Little Mahoning Creek Watershed Association and the Evergreen Conservancy.

Project Description

Much work has been completed documenting the pollution impacts to this section of Two Lick Creek, however, much of this information is not organized into a restoration plan or database. The first phase of the project will be to compile all of this collected information (i.e. water quality, agricultural runoff areas, stream bank erosion areas, lack of riparian buffers, storm water problem areas, sewage, etc.). Two impaired tributaries, Ramsey Run and Stoney Run, will be assessed more closely for impacts.

With the large wild trout population emerging in Two Lick Creek, water temperature increases can pose a threat. Because of this, we would like to study the water temperature at eight strategic locations through this section of Two Lick Creek. We will do this by placing temperature loggers programmed to take a given amount of readings per day from the beginning of June to the end of August, our warmest time of the year.

Another potential problem facing Two Lick Creek is access. This issue has been lessened with the acquisition of the Waterworks Conservation Area, however, more areas like this are needed throughout the eight mile stretch of cold water. The third phase of the project will be to research the ownership of stream bank property throughout this section. Possible easement/acquisition areas can then be pursued by the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited and their partner organization, the Evergreen Conservancy.

The fourth phase of the project is to expand upon the fish population surveys that have been completed by the PAFBC. The Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania would like to survey six sites, once in the summer of 2005 and again in the summer of 2006, to document the yearly improvement and the wild rainbow population that exists but has never been documented by the PAFBC.

The fifth phase of the project is to partner with the Western Pennsylvania Conservnacy Watershed Assistance Center to compile all of this information into GIS database and display maps that can be supplied at meetings to discuss the findings of the assessment and the future projects outlined in the plan.

Finally, a draft Coldwater Conservation Plan will be prepared that will organize all collected data, identify potential impacts, threats, problems, and opportunities, and propose restoration and conservation strategies to improve the once destroyed cold water fish community of Two Lick Creek.

This work will be completed jointly by the Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Indiana County Conservation District, the Evergreen Conservancy, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Watershed Assistance Center .

Contact Info:

Thomas J. Clark

Indiana and Armstrong County Watershed Specialist

Ken Sink Chapter of Trout Unlimited Vice President

750 East Pike Rd.

Indiana , PA 15701

724-465-9319

TClark66@hotmail.com