Big Run is a tributary of East Branch Fishing Creek in

Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Sullivan County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,840, making it the second-least populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Laporte. The county was created on March 15, 184 ...

, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Davidson Township. Its watershed has an area of . The stream has a low pH and poor water quality, although that could potentially be remedied. The main rock formations in the area are the

Catskill Formation The Devonian Catskill Formation or the Catskill Clastic Wedge is a unit of mostly terrestrial sedimentary rock found in Pennsylvania and New York. Minor marine layers exist in this thick rock unit (up to ). It is equivalent to the Hampshire Fo ...

, the Huntley Mountain Formation, and the Burgoon Sandstone. The main soil associations in the vicinity of the stream are the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga association, the Oquaga association, and the Norwich association.

Course

Big Run begins in eastern Davidson Township. It flows east for a short distance, nearly reaching the border between Sullivan County and

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

. It then turns north, entering a valley. Once inside the valley, the stream turns west and then southwest, as the valley gets deeper. After less than a mile, the stream turns northwest and leaves the valley. It then merges with Sullivan Branch to form East Branch Fishing Creek.

Tributaries

Big Run has two unnamed tributaries. These are known as Unt 28011 and Unt 28012. Both are considered by the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws ...

to be impaired by atmospheric deposition.

Hydrology

The average discharge of Big Run is 1404 gallons per minute. The average concentration of

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

in the stream is 0.167 milligrams per liter. The pH of Big Run during average flow conditions is 5.61. Its pH ranges from less than 3 to nearly 7. The stream experiences episodic acidification. Big Run is considered to have "good"

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

during average flow conditions, but "severe" water quality during high flow conditions. The stream does not require any additional

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ) is the capacity of water to resist Freshwater acidification, acidification. It should not be confused with base (chemistry), basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strength of a buffer s ...

to be restored to the satisfaction of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. Proposed methods of restoring the water quality of Big Run include in-stream

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

sand dosing and road liming.

Geography and geology

The elevation near the mouth of Big Run is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The elevation of the stream's source is between and . The area near the mouth of Big Run is on the rock of the

. Most of the rest of the stream is on rock of the Huntley Mountain Formation, but its headwaters are on Burgoon Sandstone. Most of Big Run is on the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

of the Deep-Wellsboro-Oquaga soil association. However, the headwaters of the stream are on soil of the Oquaga and Norwich associations. Rock

outcropping An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most pla ...

s are also present near the stream. Most of the soils in the watershed are strongly acidic.

Watershed

The watershed of Big Run has an area of . There are of streams in the watershed. Part of Big Run is on private lands. Big Run and its two unnamed tributaries are designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for use by

aquatic life An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environm ...

History

The restoration of Big Run is part of the fifth phase of the East Branch Fishing Creek Restoration Plan. This phase of the plan is estimated to cost $200,000. Big Run was listed as by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as impaired in 2002. As of December 2011, a

total maximum daily load A total maximum daily load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water qualit ...

is scheduled for the stream in 2015.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania Tributaries of Fishing Creek (North Branch Susquehanna River) Rivers of Pennsylvania