Oneida Number One Tunnel
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania |
| Status | abandoned |
| Start | North Green Mountain Coal Basin |
| End | Sugarloaf Creek between Lake Susquehanna and Lake Choctaw |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1930s |
| Technical | |
| Lowest elevation | 510 feet (160 m) |
The Oneida Number One Tunnel (also known as the Oneida Tunnel 1 or the Oneida #1 Tunnel) is a mine tunnel in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is one of five major mine tunnels in the watershed of Catawissa Creek. The tunnel discharges into Sugarloaf Creek near Lake Choctaw and Lake Susquehanna. The water quality of the tunnel's discharge has improved significantly since the installation of a treatment system at the site of the tunnel in 2001.
The Oneida Number One Tunnel is the only source of acid mine drainage to Sugarloaf Creek.
The Oneida Number One Tunnel has a treatment system. This treatment system causes water from the tunnel to flow through an oxic limestone drain, increasing its pH and raising its concentration of alkalinity.
Before the installation of the treatment system, the pH of the Oneida Number One Tunnel had a pH ranging from 4.6 to 4.2. The concentration of alkalinity was 0 milligrams per liter and the concentration of alkalinity ranged from 40 to 50 milligrams per liter. The tunnel had trace amounts of iron and an aluminum concentration of 1.4 to 4.9 milligrams per liter.
Following the installation of the treatment system was installed on the Oneida Number One Tunnel, the pH of the tunnel's waters averages 6.5. The concentration of alkalinity ranges from 9 to 26 milligrams per liter and the concentration of alkalinity is 0 milligrams per liter. The iron concentration is 0 milligrams per liter and the concentration of aluminum has decreased to 70 milligrams per liter. The treatment system has significantly improved the water quality of Lake Choctaw, Sugarloaf Creek, and Tomhicken Creek.
Prior to the installation of the treatment system on the Oneida Number One Tunnel, its discharge ranged from 560 to 3000 gallons per minute.
The Oneida Number One Tunnel drains the North Green Mountain Coal Basin and is the only tunnel to drain this basin. The tunnel is located in the middle reaches of the watershed of Catawissa Creek. It discharges into Sugarloaf Creek near Lake Choctaw and Lake Susquehanna.
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