Mill Creek (Susquehanna River)

Mill Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is 8.7 miles (14.0 km) long. Its watershed is approximately 36 square miles in area. The creek flows through Plains Township, Bear Creek Township, and Wilkes-Barre.

Mill Creek begins at the southeastern edge of Plains Township, at the Mill Creek Reservoir. It heads southwest into Bear Creek Township, where it crosses under Interstate 476 and turns northwest, returning to Plains Township. After some distance, it turns west, passing by the Mill Creek Intake Dam and receiving the tributary Deep Creek. Shortly afterwards, it crosses under Interstate 81 and Pennsylvania Route 315 and turns southwest again, roughly skirting the border between Plains Township and the city of Wilkes-Barre. The creek soon turns south, following the city border and it receives the tributary Laurel Run before crossing Pennsylvania Route 309 and turning west. A short distance downstream of Pennsylvania Route 309, it reaches its mouth at the Susquehanna River.

Tributaries of Mill Creek include Gardner Creek, Laurel Run and Coal Brook. There are also a number of minor tributaries, including some unnamed ones.

Mill Creek is affected by acid mine drainage, which comes from the South Wilkes-Barre Boreholes in the Solomon Creek watershed. Another cause of the pollution is the creek's waters entering deep mines. In the 1970s, there was one discharge of raw sewage or treated waste on the main stem.

The water quality of Mill Creek decreases downstream of its confluence with Gardener Creek, but increases downstream of its confluence with Laurel Run, due to a Concentration#Qualitative descriptiondilution effect.

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