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52-466: In Pittsburgh's early history, the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers were used as both drinking water sources and as sewers. While the rich often drank bottled water, the poor used primarily unfiltered river water. Pittsburgh at one time had the highest rate of typhoid in the country; in the late 19th century, about half of all foreign-born men became sick with typhoid within two years of arriving in

104-438: A cost of $ 3.6 billion total in 2010 dollars (it would eliminate SSOs and capture 96% of CSOs), and entails the construction of 25 miles of new tunnel. Alcosan argues that this Selected Plan is too expensive for customers, however, since it would approximately triple their total sewage bill. Consequently, Alcosan proposed a Recommended Plan that is affordable, with a total cost of $ 2 billion in 2010 dollars, but that falls short of

156-503: A customer in the Alcosan region to $ 430 per household per year. On July 31, 2012, Alcosan released a draft Wet Weather Plan to satisfy the EPA's consent decree which called for elimination of all Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) and reduction of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) by 85% by the end of 2026. This document described a Selected Plan which meets and exceeds these requirements, at

208-598: A song entitled "Allegheny Lullaby" that detailed life along the Allegheny in late 20th century Rust Belt towns, the river serving as a metaphor for escape. In 2008, Katie Spotz became the first person to swim the entire 325 mi (523 km) of the Allegheny River; she was accompanied by safety kayaker, James Hendershott. The team began at the river's source in Warren, Pennsylvania on July 22 and finished at

260-598: A visual color key, indicating conditions in terms of appropriate recreational uses and stores a history of water quality alerts online. SOAK status is updated in real-time using the following key: Green: System is in dry weather operation; Use rivers, streams and creeks with care Red: Wet weather overflows are in effect; Minimize contact with rivers, streams and creeks Yellow: Wet weather overflows have ceased; Rivers, streams and creeks may still be impaired. SOAK status generally reverts from yellow to green 48 hours after wet weather overflows have ceased. The SOAK program

312-515: Is a Lenape legend of a tribe called "Talligewi" who used to live along the river. Frederick Webb Hodge cited Henry Schoolcraft to connect the "Talligewi" to the Cherokee . The following account of the origin of the name Allegheny was given in 1780 by Moravian missionary David Zeisberger : "All this land and region, stretching as far as the creeks and waters that flow into the Alleghene

364-521: Is also active during the recreational boating season, May 15 through September 30. In 2007, Alcosan estimated that conformance with the consent decree will cost $ 1 billion. In a 2009 review of Alcosan, the controllers of Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh announced their estimate of consent decree costs through 2026 at $ 21 billion—much higher than the Alcosan estimate—and "without external funding, this could pose an annual increase of between $ 425 and $ 3,104 per home". Some of their projections of

416-594: Is also impounded by the Kinzua Dam in northwestern Pennsylvania, resulting in the Allegheny Reservoir also known as Kinzua Lake and Lake Perfidy among the Seneca. The Seneca Pumped Storage Generating Station is associated with Kinzua Dam. Numerous bridges and tunnels span the river throughout its course. The Allegheny River Tunnel , utilized by Pittsburgh Light Rail , went into service in 2012. In

468-509: Is at its peak. That season typically lasts from May 15 through September 30 when the likelihood of exposure to river contamination due to sewer overflows and storm water runoff increases. Local marinas and other sites along the river fly orange-colored CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) alert flags indicating when an advisory is in effect. Sewers overflow during a significant rainfall because the combined sewer systems fill up beyond their capacity to carry both sewage and storm water, thereby discharging

520-485: Is called a sanitary sewer overflow . In 2004, the EPA estimated that 16 billion US gallons (61,000,000 m) of raw sewage were discharged annually from outfalls into Pittsburgh area waterways. As of 2009, there are about 70 days a year when contact with river water in the Pittsburgh area is not recommended due to combined or sanitary sewer overflows. Some of the smaller tributaries are even more polluted than

572-476: Is in negotiations with the EPA on an updated plan. In 2009, Alcosan announced plans for demonstration projects in Munhall and Millvale for treatment of combined sewers along some of the tributaries in its area. The demonstration project was not built. Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( / ˌ æ l ɪ ˈ ɡ eɪ n i / AL -ig- AY -nee ) is a 325-mile-long (523 km) tributary of

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624-432: Is intended to inform the general public when river water may be contaminated so they can take precautions to minimize water contact during their outings. These precautions are particularly aimed at people who have open cuts or sores, and those with weakened immune systems who are most vulnerable to infection from exposure to contaminated river water. Advisories are issued during the summer months when river recreation season

676-480: The Allegheny Reservoir , which was created by the erection of the Kinzua Dam in 1965 for flood control . The name of the river is derived from one of a number of Delaware / Unami phrases that are homophones of the English name, with varying translations. The name Allegheny probably comes from Lenape welhik hane or oolikhanna, which means 'best flowing river of the hills' or 'beautiful stream'. There

728-434: The Allegheny Reservoir . After re-entering Pennsylvania, the river is joined from the east by Kinzua Creek 10 mi (16 km) upstream of Warren; from the north by Conewango Creek at Warren; from the west by Brokenstraw Creek ; from the east by East Hickory Creek at East Hickory; from the east by Tionesta Creek at Tionesta; from the north by Oil Creek at Oil City; from the west by French Creek at Franklin; from

780-622: The North Side , downtown Pittsburgh , and Point State Park . The Allegheny joins with the Monongahela River at the "Point" in downtown Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River . The river is approximately 325 mi (523 km) long, running through the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania . It drains a rural dissected plateau of 11,580 sq mi (30,000 km ) in the northern Allegheny Plateau , providing

832-686: The Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, northwesterly into New York, then in a zigzag southwesterly across the border and through Western Pennsylvania to join the Monongahela River at the Forks of the Ohio at Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. The Allegheny River is, by volume,

884-790: The United States Environmental Protection Agency 's Clean Water Act , in 2007 Alcosan signed a consent decree with the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan to greatly reduce its sewage overflows. Alcosan must assemble the plan by 2012 and implement it by 2026. River water advisories warn the general public of possible river contamination and caution them to limit contact with river water when boating, fishing, water skiing or engaging in other river recreational activities. An advisory does not prohibit nor discourage river recreational activities. It

936-547: The 1930s. The prevailing attitude was that rivers were created in order to carry waste to the sea, and that rather than require Pittsburgh to treat its wastewater, communities downriver should treat their water supplies. Buoyed by rising sanitation standards and a push to clean up Pittsburgh after World War II , the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board ordered Pittsburgh and surrounding communities to end these practices. So Allegheny County founded

988-570: The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or Alcosan, in the 1940s. Financing the system was a major hurdle involving squabbles between Pittsburgh and surrounding communities. This hurdle was cleared when Alcosan secured a four-year loan of $ 100 million, the largest for sewage treatment in American history, in 1955. The routine dumping of raw sewage into area rivers ceased in 1959, when Alcosan began operations. By

1040-557: The Allegheny River is joined from the south by Potato Creek 1.7 mi (2.7 km) downstream of Coryville , Pennsylvania and from the north by Olean Creek at Olean, New York. Tunungwant "Tuna" Creek joins the river from the south in Carrollton, New York (flowing north from Bradford, Pennsylvania); the Great Valley Creek and Little Valley Creek join the river from the north at Salamanca, New York before becoming

1092-495: The Allegheny River several miles downstream from Warren. During the campaign for the 1960 United States presidential election , John F. Kennedy assured the Seneca Nation that he would oppose the dam if elected. However, he failed to follow through on his pledge upon becoming president. In 1992, 86.6 mi (139.4 km) of the Allegheny River was designated Wild and Scenic . This designation comprises three segments of

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1144-508: The Allegheny River; and the small village of Kinzua , which was located at the confluence of Kinzua Creek with the Allegheny River. All residents of both villages were forced to move. Many prominent individuals opposed the construction of the dam at that time because of the damage it would do to Seneca lands, including Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Saylor of Johnstown , and Howard Zahniser , executive director of The Wilderness Society and native of Tionesta—a small settlement located along

1196-487: The Allegheny and Ohio rivers as the same, as is suggested by a New York State road sign on Interstate 86 that refers to the Allegheny River also as Ohiːyo' . The Geographic Names Information System lists O-hee-yo and O-hi-o as variant names. The river is called Ohi:'i:o` (river beautiful) in the Seneca language . In New York, areas around the river are often named with the alternate spelling Allegany in reference to

1248-588: The Delawares called Alligewinenk, which means 'a land into which they came from distant parts'. The river itself, however, is called Alligewi Sipo. The whites have made Alleghene out of this, the Six Nations calling the river the Ohio." The Delaware Tribe of Indians gives the Lenape name as Alikehane , "river where footprints can be seen." Native Americans, including the Lenape and Iroquois , considered

1300-463: The EPA consent decree requirements, as it reduces SSOs by only 90% and CSOs by only 79%. The estimate is that Alcosan's portion of customers' sewage bills would rise by about 11% per year, resulting in a total sewage bill approximately double the current bill. Alcosan will ask the EPA for a relaxation of the consent decree requirements in conformance with this plan. But in the Mid-Atlantic region,

1352-408: The EPA has never renegotiated a consent agreement to remedy sewage overflows on the basis of affordability for ratepayers. While environmentalists criticized the plan because of components that include 15' diameter pipes to help handle peak storm water load, Alcosan in early 2017 announced a generous grant program to help municipalities employ green techniques, stream removal and other means. Alcosan

1404-449: The city. Typhoid death rates dropped from about 130 per 100,000 population to about 30 per 100,000 after filtration of the water supply began in 1907. As the city's population grew, its early haphazard collection of cesspools and privy vaults ( outhouses ) was replaced with a municipal combined sewer system that routed sewage into the area's tributaries and rivers, starting around 1880. This improved many neighborhoods, but it deflected

1456-604: The completion of the federally sponsored Kinzua Dam for flood -control in northwestern Pennsylvania east of Warren created the long Allegheny Reservoir , known as Lake Perfidy among the Seneca, part of which is included in the Allegheny National Recreation Area . The dam flooded parts of lands deeded "forever" to the Seneca Nation of Indians by the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua , and lands given to Cornplanter and his descendants. The event

1508-542: The confluence of the Monongahela River and Allegheny form the Ohio River at downtown Pittsburgh. Many additional streams enter or join with the Allegheny River along its course. Several locks were built in the early 20th century to make the Allegheny River navigable for 72 miles upstream from Pittsburgh to East Brady . The Allegheny River has eight locks and fixed-crest dams numbered two through nine: Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 which form corresponding reservoirs. The river

1560-400: The cost ranged as high as $ 50 billion. As of 2007, Alcosan was charging its residential customers $ 2.98 per 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) of water. By 2009, it had risen to $ 3.77 per 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L). As of 2012, the average Alcosan bill is $ 262 per household per year. Customers also must pay a municipal bill, bringing the average total sewage bill (Alcosan plus municipal) for

1612-584: The east by the Clarion River , a principal tributary, at Parker; from the east by Crooked Creek southeast of Kittanning; and from the east by the Kiskiminetas River , another principal tributary, at Schenley. Buffalo Creek enters at Freeport, Chartiers Run enters at Lower Burrell, Bull Creek enters at Tarentum, Pucketa Creek enters near New Kensington, Riddle Run enters at Springdale, and Girtys Run enters at Millvale. And finally,

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1664-588: The eastern triple divide . The stream flows south and passes under Pennsylvania Route 49 11 miles northeast of Coudersport where a historical marker that declares the start of the river is located. Cobb Hill is about a mile north. The stream flows southwest paralleling Route 49 to Coudersport. It continues west to Port Allegany then turns north into western New York, looping westward across southern Cattaraugus County for approximately 30 miles (48 km), past Portville , Olean , Allegany and Salamanca and flowing through Seneca Indian Nation lands close to

1716-406: The excess flow into rivers and streams. Since streams also are affected, people should limit stream contact as well. Runoffs and overflows subside gradually and river water quality usually does not return to normal until 24 to 36 hours after the rainfall ends. River water advisories were instituted in 1995 to comply with federal regulations requiring public notice when overflows and runoffs increase

1768-656: The expansion of Anglo-American settlement into the Allegheny Valley and the surrounding Ohio Country was a primary cause of the French and Indian War in the 1750s. During the war, the village of Kittanning – the principal Shawnee settlement on the river – was completely destroyed during the Kittanning Expedition , which saw 300 provincial troops from the Province of Pennsylvania brutally attack

1820-399: The first decade of the 21st century, Pittsburgh's rivers were far cleaner than they had been 100 or 50 years earlier. Some people fish and waterski in the rivers. But the water quality has not kept pace with improving federal standards. Indeed, Pittsburgh has more combined sewer outfalls than any other city in the United States. Since 2004, Alcosan has held an annual open house, typically

1872-721: The large rivers. In a 2005 study, a Carnegie Mellon University project tested water quality and found that only 32 percent of Allegheny County's streams meet Pennsylvania's safety standard for fecal coliform bacteria. Crooked Run in North Versailles, for example, contained 2,000 times the standard. The study was the first large scale measurement of water quality in area tributaries in years. The state's Department of Environmental Protection no longer takes measurements like these because, spokesperson Betsy Mallison says, "we already know there's sewage there, and we're dealing with it." After decades of such pollution in violation of

1924-603: The latter half of the 17th century, control of the river valley passed back-and-forth between Algonquian -speaking Shawnee and the Iroquois . By the time of the arrival of French colonialists in the early 18th century, the Shawnee were once again in control and formed an alliance with France against attempts by colonists from British North America to settler across the Allegheny Mountains . The conflict over

1976-530: The likelihood of river contamination. The frequency and duration may vary depending on the amount of rainfall. For example, in the "dry" summer of 1999, eleven advisories were issued lasting a total of 33 days (an average of three days each). In 1998, ten advisories were issued lasting a total of 50 days (an average of five days each). In addition to the CSO flag program, ALCOSAN maintains the online Sewer Overflow Advisory Key (SOAK) that "grades" current water quality by

2028-594: The main headstream of both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers . Historically, the Allegheny was considered to be the upper Ohio River by both Native Americans and European settlers. This shallow river has been made navigable upstream from Pittsburgh to East Brady by a series of locks and dams that were constructed during the early 20th century. A 24-mile-long portion of the upper river in Warren and McKean counties of Pennsylvania and Cattaraugus County in New York forms

2080-615: The northeasternmost drainage in the watershed of the Mississippi River. Its tributaries reach to within 8 mi (13 km) of Lake Erie in southwestern New York. Water from the Allegheny River eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The Allegheny Valley has been one of the most productive areas of fossil fuel extraction in United States history, with its extensive deposits of coal , petroleum , and natural gas . In its upper reaches,

2132-420: The northern boundary of Allegany State Park before re-entering northwestern Pennsylvania within the Allegheny Reservoir just east of the Warren - McKean county line, approx. 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Warren . It flows in a broad zigzag course generally southwest across Western Pennsylvania ; first flowing southwest past Warren, Tidioute , Tionesta , Oil City , and Franklin , forming much of

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2184-526: The northwestern boundary of Allegheny National Forest . South of Franklin it turns southeast across Clarion County in a meandering course, then turns again southwest across Armstrong County , flowing past Kittanning , Ford City , Clinton , and Freeport . The river enters both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, the Pittsburgh suburbs , and the City of Pittsburgh from the northeast. It passes

2236-513: The problem into the rivers. Although the Pennsylvania Pure Waters Act of 1905 banned the discharge of untreated sewage by any new municipal system, that practice continued in Pittsburgh. Public health experts advocated for sewage treatment in the early 20th century, but this was regarded as an unaffordable luxury by most. Disease rates had dropped in the meantime, typhoid deaths being reduced to under 1 case per 100,000 by

2288-573: The river at Titusville . One of the underlying premises of the Genesee Valley Canal was its connection to the river, opening a trade route from Rochester , New York to the west. The advent of the railroads obviated any interest Pennsylvania might have had in participating to improve navigation on the river. The canal was closed in 1877 and the right-of-way sold to the Genesee Valley Canal Railroad . In 1965,

2340-418: The river became a principal means of navigation in the upper Ohio valley, especially for the transport of coal. Although the building of the railroads lessened the importance of the river somewhat, the lower river (navigable as far as East Brady , Pennsylvania through locks) has continued to serve as a route of commercial transportation until the present day. In 1859, the first U.S. petroleum was drilled north of

2392-490: The river located in Warren , Forest , and Venango counties. Depression-era folk singer Buster Red recorded "Allegheny River", wherein the river is a destructive force throughout life, but not necessarily a malignant one. Folksinger Pete Seeger's song "Where the Old Allegheny and Monongahela Flow", depicts a character living in a city pining for a return to the Allegheny River. Old Crow Medicine Show released

2444-658: The river; for example, the Village of Allegany and Allegany State Park . Port Allegany, located along the river in Pennsylvania near the border with New York, also follows this pattern. The Allegheny River rises in north central Pennsylvania, on Cobb Hill in Allegany Township in north central Potter County , 8 miles (13 km) south of the New York–Pennsylvania border and a few miles northwest of

2496-418: The same pipe to Alcosan's plant. After heavy rainfall, however, combined sewers commonly dump untreated sewage into area rivers and tributaries without treatment, in an event called a combined sewer overflow . Because of mis-connections and leaks in the plumbing system, even supposedly segregated systems will sometimes overflow during storms, releasing additional untreated sewage into the rivers. Such an event

2548-615: The settlement. After gaining control of the area in the 1763 Treaty of Paris , the British kept the area closed to Anglo-American colonists, in part to repair and maintain relations with the Native Americans. After the American Revolutionary War , the entire river valley became part of the new United States , and U.S. settlers forcibly displaced the region's indigenous population. During the 19th century,

2600-501: The sewer and storm drain systems grew in a haphazard fashion during Pittsburgh's rapid population growth around the year 1900. That has led to pollution problems. Portions of Alcosan's service area use segregated sewer and storm runoff plumbing systems, where the sewage is piped to Alcosan's sewage treatment plant, while the storm water flows directly into area tributaries. Other portions of the area use more primitive combined sewers , where sewage and storm water are mixed and flow through

2652-638: The third Saturday in September, to educate the public and inform them about the likely changes in coming years. Alcosan hires lobbyists to make their case with state government. In 2009, Alcosan paid $ 73,000 to Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney and $ 48,000 to Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott to lobby the Pennsylvania General Assembly . Like those in many old cities, Pittsburgh's sewer and storm water pipes are antiquated. Some lines are 50 to 100 years old and made of brick. And

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2704-695: Was described in the Johnny Cash song "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" from the 1964 album Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian , which focused on the history of and problems facing Native Americans in the United States. The construction of the dam and the filling of the Allegheny Reservoir also necessitated the elimination of the small village of Corydon , which was located at the confluence of Willow Creek with

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