The Allegheny River -
A Stream of Many Qualities

The Allegheny River exhibits both good and declining stream quality. From the Kinzua Dam near Warren, Pa., to the town of East Brady in southern Clarion County, the middle Allegheny River flows free and unobstructed by dams. This 127-mile stretch of the river exhibits good water quality and diverse habitats; farther south is a different river and a different story. Drainage from old unregulated coalmines and polluted discharges from industrial sites had left sections of the lower Allegheny River in a severely degraded state. Over the years, public and private efforts have improved the river’s water quality, but some pollution remains. The presence of locks and dams along the lower Allegheny has also impacted the river, as they block the flow of sediments down the river and hamper wildlife efforts to travel through the river. The impacts of river gravel mining are not well understood, but clearly are of concern. Sections of the waterway, particularly the lower portion, could undergo significant restoration activities in the near future.

Over the years, WPC has protected nearly 20,000 acres of islands, shorelines and valleys along the Allegheny River and this past year targeted 550 miles of major river and tributary ecosystems for conservation, along with 84 occurrences of globally rare (imperiled on Earth) plants, invertebrates, vertebrates and aquatic communities; three biological diversity areas which have highly significant habitats, including island groups; and nine expanses of important forests that adjoin river riparian zones.