January 2022:
High flows and extremely corrosive water chemistry make it difficult to maintain desired pH and Alkalinity levels.
In June of 2020, the limestone beds associated with both the north and south treatment systems were cleaned, resulting in significant improvement in water quality. Unfortunately, within several months, the water chemistry for the south system indicated a significant drop in both pH and Alkalinity. The south system treats a single, large discharge with very corrosive AMD water and it is the largest discharge to the Fall Brook tributary.
Options are being explored to treat a portion of this water at the proposed Tioga River Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Plant. Please refer to the Tioga River Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment Plant Project menu for updates on long-term treatment plans.
The limestone bed after the dozer pushed the material to the perimeter. The tumbling action with the water remaining in the bed cleaned the stone. They are drawing on the water collected in this bed to flush the stone in the next bed.
Starting to prepare this bed for the dozer. You can see how corrupted the stone is prior to the tumbling action and flushing. They are taking the beds down as close to the base layer as possible without compromising the integrity of the lining.
Shows the discharge pipe and the polluted water entering the flush pond.