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AMD-Abandoned Mine Drainage
Above is a panoramic view of the Gravity Slope Discharge near Peckville, PA in the Lackawanna River Watershed. The chemistry is as follows: pH = 6.2, Acidity = 68.4 mg/l, Alkalinity = 34.2 mg/l.
  
Above are several shots of abandoned mine discharges that flow into streams in the Wyoming Valley, PA. In general for these sites, the stream bed is coated with a thick orange precipitate (liquid rust), smells like rotten eggs and supports very little to no aquatic life. The image to the far left is the Solomons Creek Boreholes, 1 of 3 that tap into the mine pool below and gush into nearby Solomon's Creek. The middle photo is of the Susquehanna #7 Discharge to Newport Creek. The panoramic to the right is of the Phase 1 Discharge near Nanticoke, PA in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed. The chemistry is as follows: pH = 6.5, Acidity = 22.3 mg/l, Alkalinity = 307.8 mg/l. See the AMD Passive Treatment Systems Page for a picture of the wetlands treatment system that was constructed to treat this discharge.
The Weird...
 
To the Left: Nice photo of a wetland right?... Wrong, it's an AMD discharge from the Green Mountain Tunnel near Sheppton with a pH around 4 and about 8 mg/l of aluminum. The "wetland" is devoid of aquatic life since their tolerance for dissolved aluminum is below 2 mg/l. The aluminum is transported miles downstream in the Catawissa Creek until it finally meets water above pH 6 and drops out as a white precipitate. To the Right: A misplaced Water Fountain? A shot taken of the Ashland Fountain, a discharge in the village of Big Mine Run just east of Ashland. It erupts when the mine pool is high. A Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance Member stands by for scale.
An algal bloom in a pond? Nope, The Excelsior Strip Pit discharge to the Shamokin Creek not far from Shamokin, PA. It changes color, from a deep bluish green to a reddish orange, depending on the condition of the mine pool and how much oxygen is available to change the color of the dissolved iron. Just recently the SCRA installed a weir to measure the flow.
Want to see more pictures of AMD? Go to the AMD Section of Our Photo Gallery - OR - See the GreenTreks Watershed Tv Archive of AMD Discharges for more information and video clips of featured projects.
Want to know about their Water Chemistry? See the USGS Report : Water Quality of Large Discharges from Mines in the Anthracite Region of Eastern Pennsylvania by Charles R. Wood (1996).
Copyright © by EPCAMR All Right Reserved. Published on: 2004-06-30 (2182 reads) [ Go Back ] |
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Postal Address...
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EPCAMR Office
101 South Main Street
Ashley, PA 18706
Phone: (570) 371-3522
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OSM / VISTA Watershed Development Coordinator
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Wren Dugan
(570) 371-3522
[email protected]
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