Laurel Hill Creek

[Fisher]

Maybe you have read that Laurel Hill Creek is listed as the seventh most endangered river in the U.S.:
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_s...
http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/04...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09097/961035-1...
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtri...

A company has applied for permission to pull water from the watershed. Will permitting "Cooper Springs, a company, to dig a well in the Laurel Hill Creek watershed" improve or degrade the Creek and efforts to restore its health?:
http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/03...

Helen Humphries, of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, is the Cooper Springs application overseer. She may be able to tell you how to formally submit your opinion. Though her contact phone numbers cannot be posted here (but easily found via a Google search), an email to the DEP's e-mail help address requesting her contact information might do the trick:
[e-mail]
Their website: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us

Maybe more help here?
http://www.pacd.org/
"The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.(PACD) works to enhance locally led efforts that support the wise use of the state’s natural resources."

[Turkeyfooter]

What type of company/operation is "Cooper Springs"? Who owns "Cooper Springs"? I've not heard of it so I'm interested in finding out about it. Thanks in advance.

[Turkeyfooter]

Well.. sorry for the above post. I clicked on the area you provided and read the article. There is enough bottled water in this country and the plastic bottles are along the roads and in landfills everywhere!

And.. the Laurel Hill River in the summer time is VERY low. Sometimes I think the fish have to learn to breathe air because even some of the little pools of water can hardly keep them alive!!!

I, for one, will be emailing the DEP.

[old very very old]

Have never seen the Laurel Hill River ever dry. Low sometime in my many years. All you have to do is build a small dam at their expense. The part of the river needed is up stream around Bakersville. This does not mean I'M for provided the water needed. I AM NOT. LEAVE THE GOOD MOTHER ALONE. She will take care of the river herself.

[Confluence girl]

Has anyone noticed on the stretch between Confluence and Ursina how "flooded" that field is...it is going to cause the mosquitos to be crazy around there.. it is right around the curve off the bridge as you are headed to Ursina..Is there a reason it is flooded like that? You can tell it is stagnant water.

[Turkeyfooter]

It would be a good idea for some of us to email the DEP about that swampy field too! I agree, the mosquitos will be having a huge breeding area. The health people tell us to now let tires and stuff lay around with water in them because it will attract mosquitos.. and that swampy stagnant water will cause many mosquitos.

I saw that flooded field when I was in Confluence a few weeks ago. It looks like some sticks, branches and leaves, plus trash is clogging up the ditch area that allows that water to drain into the river.

That field does need drained, badly.

[Fisher]

Laurel Hill Creek's height and flow at Ursina are updated hourly at this site:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv...

The drop-down menu at the top next to the 'Go' button offers 90 years of historical data for the creek.

[Turkeyfooter]

Fisher wrote:

Laurel Hill Creek's height and flow at Ursina are updated hourly at this site:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv...
The drop-down menu at the top next to the 'Go' button offers 90 years of historical data for the creek.

That is a good web site. I've used it to look up the Yough River depth and the Casselman River depth in the Confluence area. Especially in times of high water/flooding.

Maybe we could get the USGS to put a monitor on the swampy stagnant water in that field..! just kidding,..but the flooded terrible sight of that field and stagnant water isn't a funny matter.

[Fisher]

Here is another recent article discussing the dwindling health of Laural Hill Creek:
http://thetartan.org/2009/4/13/news/river

[Fisher]

The New York Times has an article on the Laural Highlands area that mentions Confluence five paragraphs up from the bottom of the first screen. The photo leading the article is of Laurel Hill Creek:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/greathomesa...

[usta be in confluence]

I just read that article and it's a very nice article. Also I clicked thru the pictures and those are very nice as well. Although there is much about the resorts, there is nice wording, as well, about Confluence and the surrounding areas. Thanks for guiding us to that article!

[Fisher]

This was the front page headline article for the Daily American on Saturday, April 25th:
"Project Opposed: Watershed residents speak out against bottled water plan"

Click this link to read the full story:
http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/04...

[Turkeyfooter]

Confluence girl wrote:

Has anyone noticed on the stretch between Confluence and Ursina how "flooded" that field is...it is going to cause the mosquitos to be crazy around there.. it is right around the curve off the bridge as you are headed to Ursina..Is there a reason it is flooded like that? You can tell it is stagnant water.

I drove through the Confluence area on Sunday. I DID notice that that 'flooded' swampy slimy field has been getting worked on and some drainage is happening. Whom ever is doing is.. it LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER. Keep up the good work.

[PalmLeaves]

Turkeyfooter wrote:

<quoted text>
I drove through the Confluence area on Sunday. I DID notice that that 'flooded' swampy slimy field has been getting worked on and some drainage is happening. Whom ever is doing is.. it LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER. Keep up the good work.

I doubt that the beavers who built the dam and lived in that small pond are very happy.

[Y-Knot]

After reading the NY Times article, Confluence better get prepared for more tourists. Fun, fun, fun but good for the economy. That article will attract people to the area.

[Turkeyfooter]

PalmLeaves wrote:

<quoted text>
I doubt that the beavers who built the dam and lived in that small pond are very happy.

I'm not saying there are no beavers in that field, if there are, I've never seen any of them.. and I'm sorry if their home has been destroyed. Better to have ticked off beavers that will rebuild, if they are there.. than to have a breeding area for disease carrying mosquitos.

[Fisher]

This three page document summarizes the threats to Laurel Hill Creek that led to its recent designation as America's Seventh Most Endangered River of 2009. The primary threat: excessive water withdrawals up the watershed from Confluence. There are contact e-mail addresses at the end of the document:
http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/mer...

[Fisher]

Here is a nice article from the Post-Gazette about the historically good trout fishing enjoyed in Laurel Hill Creek. It discusses the river from its source 30 miles up river to its merge with the Casselman in Confluence:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08076/865555-3...

[READER]

Thanks for the great link!

[Fisher]

If you have concerns about a private company withdrawing 108,000 gallons of water a day for sale outside the Laurel Hill Creek watershed and Somerset County, you might be interested in reading and acting upon the progressing application and permitting process. Apparently there will be a public hearing on the matter.
http://alleghenyfront.org/transcript.html...

Confluence is downstream from all of this but will suffer most the effects of a dwindling water flow. It's more difficult to reverse an approval than to prevent one.

Please post the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection public meeting details if anyone discovers them.