Meadow Brook is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Dunmore and Scranton. The watershed of the stream has an area of , though it used to be considerably larger. It is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery, but many reaches of the stream have been destroyed by mining or post-mining development impacts. The stream flows through a culvert system for much of its length. However, there are areas where it is in an open concrete channel or has a natural streambed. There are also patches of old-growth forest along the stream in the Forest Hill Cemetery.
Meadow Brook has experienced significant flow loss and what flow it does have mainly consists of intermittent stormwater flows. There used to be springs, seeps, and wetlands at the stream's headwaters. However, a colliery (and later a landfill) was built over that area. The Dunmore Cemetery and the Forest Hill Cemetery are in the stream's vicinity. Meadow Brook is a first-order stream.
Course
Meadow Brook begins near the Dunmore Cemetery in Dunmore. It flows north-northwest for a short distance before turning west for a few tenths of a mile. The stream then turns west-southwest for more than a mile, entering Scranton and losing its surface flow. It then turns southwest for a few tenths of a mile, briefly regaining its surface flow before losing it again and gaining it once more. A short distance further downstream, the stream reaches its confluence with the Lackawanna River.
Meadow Brook joins the Lackawanna River upriver of its mouth.
Tributaries
Meadow Brook used to have a tributary. However, the tributary was destroyed by operations by the Price-Pancost Coal Company in the 1890s, the construction of Interstate 81, and the construction of the Marywood University campus in the 1960s.
Hydrology and climate
Meadow Brook experiences complete flow loss in some reaches. Reaches of the stream have also been entirely destroyed by past mining or post-mining development. It mainly serves as a sewer shed and its flow consists of intermittent stormwater flows. There is one stormwater detention facility in the stream's watershed. It is owned by the Swift Fence Company.
Several combined sewer overflows in the watershed of Meadow Brook have been identified and removed since the 1990s. The stream typically has a dry streambed. Large amounts of debris have been found in the stream and the streambed, including landscape waste, floral waste, tree debris, and trash. Large deposits of sediment are also present near Jefferson Avenue.
At its mouth, the peak annual discharge of Meadow Brook has a 10 percent chance of reaching . It has a 2 percent chance of reaching and a 1 percent chance of reaching . The peak annual discharge has a 0.2 percent chance of reaching . Springtime water temperature measurements of the stream have ranged from .
Geography and geology
The elevation near the mouth of Meadow Brook is above sea level. The elevation near the stream's source is above sea level.
Meadow Brook has been so severely affected by urban development or historic mining that it no longer resembles a stream. It has been described as "essentially non-existent". However, some features of the stream's channel still remain. It is similar in these respects to some other streams in the area. Where the streambed is still natural, it consists of a mixture of cobbles and rocks.
The source of Meadow Brook used to be a series of springs and seeps on a ridge near the base of the Moosic Mountains. The springs also fed a complex of glacial bogs and wetlands. However, the Pennsylvania Coal Company eventually constructed the Gypsy Grove Colliery on the site, and eventually the Keystone Sanitary Landfill came to occupy the area.
Two stone arch bridges cross Meadow Brook in the Forest Hill Cemetery, where the stream still maintains a natural channel. Other reaches of the stream are above ground, but in a concrete channel. However, there is an extensive underground culvert system on the stream, and most of its length is within that system. The culvert system crosses under a dozen streets. The stream flows through seven pipes with sizes ranging from .
Watershed
The watershed of Meadow Brook has an area of . However, it used to have a watershed with an area of . The stream is entirely within the United States Geological Survey quadrangle of Scranton. The stream is classified as a first-order stream.