Raccoon Creek: A lesson in recovery
The Hewett Fork, a tributary of Raccoon Creek, downstream from the Carbondale Doser in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2025. At this distance from the doser, the limestone added to the water reacts to the iron present in the water, creating a deep orange color.
At just under 112 miles and spanning across three counties in southeast Ohio, Raccoon Creek is the longest state scenic river in Ohio and only one in this region of the state. It is also the newest to gain this title, having only received the designation on November 12, 2024 by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Once considered a nearly dead waterway by most due to high amounts of acid mine drainage, both aboveground and underground, Raccoon Creek is on its way to thriving, being the only Ohio State Scenic River to be considered “recovered.”
The river officially converges its two forming branches just south of the town of New Plymouth in Brown Township. From there, it flows for over 100 miles through the Wayne National Forest, Zaleski State Forest, and several towns before eventually making its way into the Ohio River. The watershed of Raccoon Creek extends well beyond the 112 miles of river, one of the longest in the state. At 683.5 square miles, the Raccoon Creek watershed extends over six southeast Ohio counties; Vinton, Meigs, Gallia, Athens, Jackson and Hocking. Around 70-75% of the watershed is forested, with much of the river running through public lands. Within the wide range of the watershed, over 50 tributaries feed Raccoon Creek from headwaters to mouth. This includes Hewett Fork, one of the longest and most important feeder streams. Just a quarter mile upstream from the fork is the Carbondale Doser, a vital part in the efforts to restore Raccoon Creek from nearly dead to thriving in just a matter of decades.
An aerial view of the Carbondale Doser channel in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2025.
Lou Arrigo (left) and Lily Kijek (right) walk back towards the Carbondale Doser in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025.
Left: The Hewett Fork in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025. Even though it is downstream from the Carbondale Doser, the water is murkier as iron gets broken up and dissolved by the calcium oxide, which lies the banks of the creek.
Right: Lily Kijek records data inside the Carbondale Doser in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025. Members of the Raccoon Creek Partnership have to come to the doser weekly to monitor PH levels and clear up clogged calcium oxide.
Top: Calcium oxide falls from the silo into mine drainage water inside the Carbondale Doser in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025. The calcium oxide helps to break up and neutralize the high amounts of iron in the water.
Below: Lily Kijek (left) and Lou Arrigo (right) look down at the Carbondale Doser channel in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025.
Lily Kijek shovels away clogged up calcium oxide from the water just downstream from the Carbondale Doser in Carbondale, Waterloo Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025. Although the calcium oxide is dispersed slowly from the doser, it can still clog up later downstream.
Officially formed in 2007 on the heels of a previous organization in the 1990’s, Raccoon Creek Partnership has been the key organization in the past 20 years working on restoration efforts and eventually pushing for the State Scenic River designation which came in late 2024.
Lou Arrigo, an AmeriCorps member that has worked with Raccoon Creek Partnership for the past two years, said that the effects of acid mine drainage from abandoned surface and underground mines are still felt in the land and water decades later. “The water of southeast Ohio has been severely impacted by acid mine drainage, and it’s been largely up to grassroots organizations to address the issue.”
Although the Ohio Department of Natural Resources built the Carbondale Doser and the land it sits on is in Zaleski State Forest, the Raccoon Creek Partnership co-manages the doser, performing weekly maintenance and data recording on it. Construction of it was completed in 2004. The doser takes in acid mine water drainage from a pipe about 50 feet away through a channel, which powers a mill that crushes down calcium oxide into a fine powder that is then gradually dispensed into the water channel. As the water flows down the canal and activates the calcium oxide, it turns first a deep blue hue then deep orange as the iron in the water is neutralized. Eventually, the channel goes under Carbondale Road then feeds into Hewett Fork.
Even though the water is a deep orange color when it finally hits and mixes with Hewett Fork, it is actually healthier than the water that first comes out of the drainage seep pipe. The orange hue comes from the calcium raising the pH levels of the water as it reacts with the iron. When the seepage from the mines first come to the service, it has a pH level of about 3, similar to the acidity of orange juice. By the time it reaches Hewett Fork, it nears a pH level of 5. While not considered neutral, it is a massive improvement.
There are three types of water treatment that the Raccoon Creek Partnership uses: active, passive and reclamation. The Carbondale Doser is an example of an active restoration effort. Active treatment usually involves some sort of machinery that requires at least some human involvement in maintaining it and are typically very effective in treating the water, although it is a more consistent cost. The passive approach requires human intervention initially, but once installed, it requires little maintenance, is moderately effective in treatment and the lowest cost of the three. An example of this would be the Mulga Run steel slag leach beds in Milton Township, Jackson County. Similar to passive methods, reclamation treatments require little human intervention after the initial development. Typically around abandoned surface mines, reclamation treatments aim to eliminate acid mine drainage at the source, such as draining and refilling former strip and pit mines. It is by far the most effective treatment method but comes at a much higher initial cost.
Lily Kijek holds up a crawfish on the bank of Hewett Fork off of the Moonville Rail Trail, Brown Township, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2025. Raccoon Creek and its offshoot Hewett Fork was once almost devoid of animal life. "Before restoration, there were about 24 species (of fish) in the watershed. Now there are 92 that couldn’t have survived decades ago," Lou Arrigo said.
As the decades have gone on and restoration efforts have continued on Raccoon Creek and it’s tributaries, various species of fish and macroinvertebrates have returned to the waterways and larger watershed. In a 2000 survey on Hewett Fork downstream from the eventual site of the Carbondale Doser, there were no fish recorded. Just a year after the doser was installed in 2005, 169 individuals of 10 different fish species were recorded. Across the watershed, increases in fish and macroinvertebrate populations and species diversity have drastically gone up. The same goes for critical indicator species, or animals that are likely to be intolerable to environmental degradation.
Lily Kijek, an AmeriCorps member that has worked with Raccoon Creek Partnership since August 2025, said the progress made on Raccoon Creek and its watershed have been exciting to see. “Things are just really looking up for Raccoon Creek.”
Not only is Raccoon Creek utilized as a home for critical indicator animals, the greater watershed is used by humans for recreation. Fishing has become increasingly popular as fish return to the waterways. Water activities such as canoeing and kayaking are also popular on the main branch of Raccoon Creek, with Raccoon Creek Outfitters offering rental services right on the banks of the river. With Raccoon Creek and its tributaries passing through state parks, forests, and a national forest, much of the land is public, allowing for hunting to also become popular in the area.
Although Raccoon Creek now has the state scenic river designation and is on the rebound for the first time since the onset of mining, there is still much work to be done. Like most of the waterways in southeast Ohio, over a century of poor mining and agriculture practices have resulted in environmental devastation that will take many more decades to fully recover from.
“Before restoration, there were about 24 species (of fish) in the watershed. Now there are 92 that couldn’t have survived decades ago.” -Lou Arrigo, Raccoon Creek Partnership
