The source of the AMD discharge feeding in to the Espy Run is located near the tree branch sticking out of the water on the right side of the photo.

EPCAMR completed AMD water quality and water flow monitoring of the Espy Run AMD Treatment System from August 2012-August 2013 in order to determine loading of iron, alkalinity, pH, acidity, and temperature at the Espy Run influent sites (old wetland,  new channel, new pipe), 3 points within the treatment system (Pond A, Pond B, Wetland), the Espy Run effluent, and downstream of the Espy Run combined AMD Treatment Systems. After completing the year long testing period, EPCAMR completed a final report detailing all of the data gathered on water flow and water quality. EPCAMR’s work on this project, in collaboration with the Earth Conservancy  allows them access to this area for educational outreach programs with local school districts in order to provide insight into AMD treatment systems, how to improve water quality through different water treatment technologies, and incorporate PA’s Department of Education’s Environment and Ecology Environmental Education Standards that compliment the various schools existing curriculum.

Weir #3 and Weir #4 on the outlet side of Espy Run before rehabilitation. As can be seen by the lack of flow and build-up of leaf debris, some maintenance was needed to get both weirs fully functioning again.

In 2011, after the Espy Run was rehabilitated, the average flow from the system was 521 gpm. With this flow, the system was able to remove 303 pounds per day of acidity while retaining 91.7 pounds of iron per day and thereby removing it from the stream. During the 2012 monitoring period, EPCAMR found that the average rate of flow from the system was 215 gpm, allowing the system to remove 162 pounds per day of acidity while retaining 18.8 pounds  of iron per day.

These numbers show a dramatic contrast between the 2011 assessment period and the 2012 assessment period. While these differences seem to point to a lack of effectiveness within the system, a number of factors led to these findings. 2011 was a year with above average precipitation while 2012 was a dry year with lower than average rainfall. The dramatic differences in rainfall greatly influenced the amount of flow within the system. In addition, treatment systems like the Espy Run system generally experience a “Honeymoon Period” in which the system performs better than expected. Treatment efficiency is related directly to flow and the eventual loadings of the iron, alkalinity, and acidity of the mine water.

V-notch weir post-construction spilling out cleaner water! The iron has been reduced by 90%, the pH and dissolved oxygen have been increased, as a slight increase in water temperature.

In order to help improve water residency time within the system, reduce short-circuiting  of the mine water, and optimize iron loading retention, the Earth Conservancy, through funding from a Quick Response Grant administered by our sister Coalition, the Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (WPCAMR), applied further modifications to the system.  One of these modifications included sandbagging the inlet half-pipe channel to direct water into Pond B only. The outlet from Pond B was sandbagged, with Ponds A & B connected by a pipe allowing for flow from one to the other, leaving both ponds with a common outlet channel. In addition, a bridge was constructed over the outlet channel so that access to the old wetland system would be easier.

The bridge, shown going over the water in the rehabilitated Espy Run treatment system. The water, coming out of Ponds A & B in the system, is much clearer with a reduced orange color, indicating lower iron levels and cleaner water.

In order to redirect short-circuiting water issues a concrete Jersey Barrier was installed at the inlet to the old wetland system. Lastly, the weirs were lowered on the outlet of the old wetlands to lower water levels so that wetland vegetation had more surface area to grow. Cattails, phragmites, and several other wetland species of plants normally do not grow well in water at a depth of 18″ or greater. These modification proved to be successful, allowing for an additional 6 pounds per day of iron and neutralization of an additional 22 pounds per day of acidity. After gathering data on chemistry and flow, EPCAMR determined that optimal treatment levels are reached between 150-300 gpm. Flows lower than 150 gpm were not recorded during the assessment period, but if these low flow levels were to occur, they could cause detrimental chemical reactions in addition to allowing for excessive plant growth. On the other hand, if flows reach above 300 gpm, they can cause damage to the system. EPCAMR did not record flows at this level, but observation of damaged berms within the system indicated that water flow had been extremely high at some points during the assessment period.

EPCAMR staff member, Justyna, samples water from the raw water inflow to the settling ponds.

During the assessment period, EPCAMR made some additional observations that allowed for a better understanding of the effectiveness of the treatment system. Weather conditions had a significant impact on results. The greater precipitation, the more water trapped in the minepool, thus the greater the flow of AMD discharge into the treatment system. Higher flow, as mentioned above, can cause potentially cause damage to the system. EPCAMR observed that lowering the weirs in order to restrict water levels allows for mediation of this problem. In addition, warm weather conditions appear to create downstream “thermal pollution” on the cold water pouring out of the discharge, raising the temperature in ponds and wetlands 20 degrees fahrenheit or more. While this is an issue often associated with wetland type passive treatment systems, the beneficial removal of acid and heavy metal deposits is a worthwhile trade-off. On the other hand, cold weather conditions tend to slow down chemical reactions, hindering the removal of iron and neutralization of acids. During some of the winter sampling periods, Pond A suffered from periodic freezing due to the half-pipe’s “uneven” distribution. Modification of the system helped to remedy this issue.

Panoramic view of Pond B (left) & Pond A (right) showing the flow through pipe. Notice the brighter orange color of Pond B, indicating that more iron is settling out.

Although biological sampling and visual habitat were not a part of their services, EPCAMR noted evidence affirming that wildlife is inhabiting the treatment system. Frogs were croaking and jumping as EPCAMR staff walked across the berms, and tadpoles were seen in the spring to early summer along the outlet channels. Turtles were seen sunning themselves on the banks. Redwing Blackbirds and other bird species co-habitated throughout the area. A mother goose built her nest among the thick wetland plants and was often seen chasing EPCAMR staff around the wetlands a they gathered water samples. 

This baby Wood Turtle was seen sunning himself on the banks of the treatment system. His orange color is not from iron oxide, but shows his natural coloring. This little guy is a good sign!

Deer and turkeys were often seen roaming the fields above the ponds and wetlands. Pond A was teeming with schools of minnows. Beavers and muskrats were trapped out of the system so that they could not cause damage, but the beaver dam located near the USGS gauging station redirected the water over the weir, allowing for the system to work as it was originally intended to flow.

Taken downstream near the USGS gas station, this photo shows the beaver dam. This dam actually redirects the majority of flow back over the wier, The water here is cloudy, but the orange color is mostly gone, indicating that there is less iron in the stream.

EPCAMR’s year long assessment period showed that the Espy Run AMD Treatment Facility was largely successful at treating iron oxide deposits located in the stream. As of August 2013, the last assessment month for EPCAMR, the iron concentration coming into the treatment system was 10 Mg/L. As shown in the below left graph, after treatment, the iron concentration coming out of the system was approximately 32 Mg/L. As shown in the below right graph, as of August 2013, the iron load held within the system was approximately 22 lbs/day when the flow was around 225 gal/min. These figures show that after modification, the system was able to treat water at higher flows than was previously recorded.

While recorded data shows that they system was effective at treating iron oxide deposits and acidity within the water, visual assessment made it clear to any observer that the treatment system was helpful in reducing pollution within the water. The water leaving the treatment system was still cloudy, but lacked the bright orange pigment, indicating that the system was effective at removing a lot of acidity and iron oxide. Other indicators, such as visual observation of wildlife show that the wetland is able to be inhabited rather than remaining a biological deadzone as it had been prior to treatment. An increased number of fish species were found to be present downstream of the treatment system such as smallmouth bass, creek chubs, black-nose dace, blue-gills, and shiners.  EPCAMR will be continuing to monitor the system for the Earth Conservancy on a quarterly basis through the Fall of 2014.

The post EPCAMR Continues Monitoring of Espy Run AMD Treatment System for the Earth Conservancy in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed appeared first on epcamr.org.

As the iron is exposed to oxygen, it falls to the bottom of the stream as thick orange precipitate, coating the sides and bottom of the channel and impacting native wildlife species. The Maelstrom Oxidizer injects large amounts of air through a series of tubes, allowing the iron to drop out of the water more quickly, this reducing the area coated with orange sediment, or Yellow Boy. However, the system does require the use of electricity, which can become a long-term maintenance cost issue for the Earth Conservancy.

This November 2013 photo shows the Askam AMD Treatment facility under construction.

In October 2011, EPCAMR was contracted by the Earth Conservancy to conduct a baseline study in order to test water quality, determine insect populations, and conduct a visual habitat assessment. The study, which took place over a period of two years from November 2011 to January 2013, showed that the Askam #1 and #2 have a combined typical flow of around 2000 gallons per minute with an average of 30 mg/L of iron. This means that 807 pounds of iron oxide are deposited into the Nanticoke Creek from this discharge alone daily.

This chart shows the amount of water flowing through the Askam #1 and #2 boreholes over a 2 year period. The flow can vary from 9000 gpm to 0 gpm.

One of two of the Askam AMD Boreholes spewing mine drainage into the Nanticoke Creek along Dundee Road just east of Loomis Park in Hanover Township

The data gathered by EPCAMR allowed staff to analyze and compare existing water conditions to previous baseline historic water quality data. After the construction project is completed, EPCAMR will continue to assess and monitor with 7 main services to be rendered. EPCAMR will first research, collect, summarize, and analyze existing baseline historic water quality data from reports, studies, assessments, projects, and remediation efforts in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed. Comparisons to historic water quality data will allow for a better understanding of how well the treatment system is working and how effective it is when compared to past water quality reports. Secondly, EPCAMR will be taking photo-inventory and descriptions of all Field Sites and Geographic Locations using GIS/GPS.

Located just off of Route 29, the Askam Treatment System would take up a proposed 61,650 square feet.

In addition, EPCAMR will perform Visual Stream Assessment and continued Water Quality Monitoring of the Nanticoke Creek Stream Habitat Corridor west of Middle Road to Loomis Park both pre & post construction of the treatment system, Areas that will be assessed within these areas include: Nanticoke Creek upstream of the Askam Borehole (instream), the Askam AMD Borehole Discharge, Nanticoke Creek downstream of the Askam Borehole (instream), and the Loomis Discharge along Dundee Road. EPCAMR will continue to assess the completed Askam Treatment System up to 1 year after completion. Along with assessment of water quality, EPCAMR will continue to take Biological Stream Samples in order to assess the presence and health of macro-invertebrates, fishes, and amphibians both upstream and downstream of the Askam Borehole. EPCAMR will perform water flow monitoring of Nanticoke Creek pre & post construction of the Askam AMD system. Assessing water flow will allow EPCAMR to determine the loading of iron, acidity, and alkalinity upstream and downstream of the borehole, at the Askam treatment system, and at the Loomis Discharge. Finally, EPCAMR will complete a final report compiling all of the data gathered over the course of the year long assessment period. All of EPCAMR’s services for the Askam AMD Treatment System will allow for continued monitoring of the area to assess stream health while providing an accurate picture of the effectiveness of the treatment system.

Once EPCAMR is finished with stream assessment and water quality testing, they will continue to be involved with the Askam Borehole Treatment system in order to use it as a resource for education and outreach on the impacts of AMD and the benefits of the Askam system. Using this will allow EPCAMR to provide insight to the local community and create and promote activities related to AMD treatment systems in partnership with the Earth Conservancy. “EPCAMR appreciates Earth Conservancy’s willingness to allow us to utilize this site and many others as outdoor environmental education classrooms throughout the year, otherwise, our students in this area will have learned very little about the mining impacts and the eventual treatment system processes that are improving our local waterways”, Robert Hughes, EPCAMR Executive Director enthusiastically stated.

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