Aylesworth Creek is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Carbondale Township and the boroughs of Mayfield and Archbald. The watershed of the creek has an area of . Part of the creek is impaired by abandoned mine drainage and/or resource extraction. The creek tends to be slightly acidic, but its iron, manganese, and aluminum concentrations do not need reduction to meet its total maximum daily load requirements. Its watershed is in the Appalachian Mountain section of the ridge and valley physiographic province. The headwaters of the creek are in the Moosic Mountains. The rock formations in the watershed mainly consist of interbedded sedimentary rock and sandstone.
Lakes in the watershed of Aylesworth Creek include the Edgerton Reservoir and Aylesworth Creek Lake. The former is a former water supply reservoir, while the latter is used for flood control and recreation. The creek's upper reaches are mainly undisturbed, while the lower reaches are impacted by past mining operations and urban development. The significant majority of the watershed is forested. Pennsylvania State Game Lands are in the watershed's upper reaches and a tract of land maintained by the Lackawanna Valley Conservancy is at its mouth. Aylesworth Creek is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery.
Course
Aylesworth Creek begins in a small lake in a valley in Carbondale Township. It flows south-southwest for several tenths of a mile before passing through a lake. At the southern end of the lake, the creek turns southwest for more than a mile, briefly passing through Mayfield and entering Archbald. In Archbald, it passes through the Edgerton Reservoir and turns west-southwest for approximately a mile. The creek then turns south for a few tenths of a mile before turning southwest and then west-northwest. A few tenths of a mile further downstream, it passes through Aylesworth Creek Lake and continues flowing west-northwest before crossing US Route 6 and turning southwest. After a short distance, it turns west for several tenths of a mile and then turns south. A short distance further downstream, the creek reaches its confluence with the Lackawanna River.
Aylesworth Creek joins the Lackawanna River upriver of its mouth.
Tributaries
Aylesworth Creek has no named tributaries. However, it does have three unnamed tributaries of lengths , , and . All three tributaries enter Aylesworth Creek from the left.
Hydrology
Aylesworth Creek is designated as an impaired stream from a point upstream of the Edgerton Reservoir downstream to its mouth. The causes of the impairment have at various times included pH, metals, and flow alterations and the sources of the impairment have included abandoned mine drainage and resource extraction. A total of of one of the unnamed tributaries is impaired, with the cause being flow alterations and the source being abandoned mine drainage.
Abandoned mine drainage pollution has caused Aylesworth Creek to have high concentrations of metals and a low pH on the main stem downstream of the Aylesworth Reservoir. Mine drainage in the watershed comes from seeps.
The concentration of iron in Aylesworth Creek between the Aylesworth Reservoir and UNT 28567 is 0.07 milligrams per liter and the daily load is . The concentration of manganese in the creek at this site is 0.15 milligrams per liter and the load is . The aluminum concentration is 0.26 milligrams per liter and the daily load is per day. None of these need reduction to meet the total maximum daily load. However, a 92 percent reduction in acidity is needed to meet the total maximum daily load requirements. The acidity concentration is 16.98 milligrams per liter and the load is . The alkalinity concentration is 3.89 milligrams per liter and the daily load of alkalinity is .
Near its mouth, iron and aluminum in Aylesworth Creek were not detected in the total maximum daily load study. The concentration of manganese is 0.11 milligrams per liter and the daily load is . The acidity concentration is 12.60 milligrams per liter and the load of acidity is . The alkalinity concentration is 9.23 milligrams per liter and the load of acidity is .