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Mine Drainage and Water Quality Research

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By Pennsylvania Water Science Center February 18, 2025

Could treating acid mine drainage be causing problems downstream?

News

USGS conducts research on geochemical and hydrological processes that control water quality, including the sources, transport, and attenuation of metals and nutrients in undisturbed and mining-impacted watersheds and aquifers.

Results apply to scientific and regulatory programs for the prevention and remediation of aquatic contamination.

 

 

Media
green, orange, trees, wetlands, houses
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Silver Creek Aerobic Wetlands, New Philadelphia, PA
Treatment Stage:
0-Untreated
1-Sedimentation Pond
2-Aeration Cascade
3-Aerobic Pond
4-Aeration Cascade
5-Aerobic Pond
6-Riprap Cascade
7-Aerobic Wetland
8-Riprap Cascade
9-Aerobic Wetland
10-Riprap
Filter Total Items: 27

Downflow limestone beds for treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden drainage from a flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. Field evaluation Downflow limestone beds for treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden drainage from a flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. Field evaluation

Passive-treatment systems that route acidic mine drainage (AMD) through crushed limestone and/or organic-rich substrates have been used to remove the acidity and metals from various AMD sources, with a wide range of effects. This study evaluates treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden AMD with limestone alone, and with organic-rich compost layered with the limestone. In the fall of...
Authors
C.A. Cravotta, S.J. Ward
By
Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Laboratory and field evaluation of a flushable oxic limestone drain for treatment of net-acidic drainage from a flooded anthracite mine, Pennsylvania, USA Laboratory and field evaluation of a flushable oxic limestone drain for treatment of net-acidic drainage from a flooded anthracite mine, Pennsylvania, USA

This paper demonstrates the use of dissolution-rate data obtained in the laboratory to indicate the potential quality of effluent from a field-scale oxic limestone drain (OLD) treatment system for neutralization of dilute acidic mine drainage (AMD). Effluent from the Reevesdale Mine South Dip Tunnel, a large source of AMD and base flow to the Wabash Creek and Little Schuylkill River in...
Authors
C.A. Cravotta
By
Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Assessment of characteristics and remedial alternatives for abandoned mine drainage : case study at Staple Bend Tunnel unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 2004 Assessment of characteristics and remedial alternatives for abandoned mine drainage : case study at Staple Bend Tunnel unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 2004

This report describes field, laboratory, and computational methods that could be used to assess remedial strategies for abandoned mine drainage (AMD). During April-June, 2004, the assessment process was applied to AMD from bituminous coal deposits at a test site in the Staple Bend Tunnel Unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (ALPO-SBTU) in Cambria County, Pennsylvania...
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

USGS conducts research on geochemical and hydrological processes that control water quality, including the sources, transport, and attenuation of metals and nutrients in undisturbed and mining-impacted watersheds and aquifers.

Results apply to scientific and regulatory programs for the prevention and remediation of aquatic contamination.

 

 

Media
green, orange, trees, wetlands, houses
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Silver Creek Aerobic Wetlands, New Philadelphia, PA
Treatment Stage:
0-Untreated
1-Sedimentation Pond
2-Aeration Cascade
3-Aerobic Pond
4-Aeration Cascade
5-Aerobic Pond
6-Riprap Cascade
7-Aerobic Wetland
8-Riprap Cascade
9-Aerobic Wetland
10-Riprap
Filter Total Items: 27

Downflow limestone beds for treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden drainage from a flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. Field evaluation Downflow limestone beds for treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden drainage from a flooded Anthracite Mine, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. Field evaluation

Passive-treatment systems that route acidic mine drainage (AMD) through crushed limestone and/or organic-rich substrates have been used to remove the acidity and metals from various AMD sources, with a wide range of effects. This study evaluates treatment of net-acidic, oxic, iron-laden AMD with limestone alone, and with organic-rich compost layered with the limestone. In the fall of...
Authors
C.A. Cravotta, S.J. Ward
By
Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Laboratory and field evaluation of a flushable oxic limestone drain for treatment of net-acidic drainage from a flooded anthracite mine, Pennsylvania, USA Laboratory and field evaluation of a flushable oxic limestone drain for treatment of net-acidic drainage from a flooded anthracite mine, Pennsylvania, USA

This paper demonstrates the use of dissolution-rate data obtained in the laboratory to indicate the potential quality of effluent from a field-scale oxic limestone drain (OLD) treatment system for neutralization of dilute acidic mine drainage (AMD). Effluent from the Reevesdale Mine South Dip Tunnel, a large source of AMD and base flow to the Wabash Creek and Little Schuylkill River in...
Authors
C.A. Cravotta
By
Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Assessment of characteristics and remedial alternatives for abandoned mine drainage : case study at Staple Bend Tunnel unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 2004 Assessment of characteristics and remedial alternatives for abandoned mine drainage : case study at Staple Bend Tunnel unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 2004

This report describes field, laboratory, and computational methods that could be used to assess remedial strategies for abandoned mine drainage (AMD). During April-June, 2004, the assessment process was applied to AMD from bituminous coal deposits at a test site in the Staple Bend Tunnel Unit of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (ALPO-SBTU) in Cambria County, Pennsylvania...
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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