Newport Creek is approximately 20 miles long, originating at the Glen Lyon Pump AMD Discharge and strip mine lands in Newport Township and discharging into the North Branch of the Susquehanna River west of Nanticoke City. The South Branch of Newport Creek originates at Fairchild Pond and wetland areas between Little Wilkes-Barre and Penobscot Mountains. The watershed is located in the southeastern portion of Wyoming Valley and is contained within three (3) municipalities. The Newport Creek Watershed is comprised of four (4) individual subwatersheds including South Branch of Newport Creek, Reservoir Creek, and Middle Branch of Newport Creek. A majority of the watershed is underlain by underground mines and a mine pool, to which it looses surface water flows. There is evidence of stream rerouting in almost all headwaters areas. The creek picks up two (2) more AMD deep mine discharges and several seeps: the Newport Lake (a 20 acre lake of mine drainage) discharge and related seeps near Newport Center Section of Newport Township, the Susquehanna #7 Airshaft #2 Discharge near Nanticoke and the Auchenloss seep near the Alden Section of Newport Township.
Reports for the Watershed:
Operation SCARLIFT: Newport Creek Watershed
The impact of mining on the Newport and Nanticoke Creek watersheds, Luzerne County, PA – a one-year assessment of physical and biological impacts / prepared by Wilkes University Wetland Technical Team.
