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EVALUATION AND REDESIGN OF WETLAND/ALD PASSIVE SYSTEM IN NORTH FORK OF THE BLACKWATER RIVER, WV
Hedin, B., K. Linnell, G. Watzlaf, N. Anderson, and J. Skousen. | 2019 West Virginia Mine Drainage Task Force Symposium, 26-27 March, Morgantown, WV, 67 slides, 2019

The North Fork of the Blackwater River near Thomas, West Virginia is impacted by acid mine water flowing from the M29 portal out of the Coketon Mine Pool. In 1993, a portion of the flow was diverted to a passive treatment system that consisted of a series of wetland cells followed by an anoxic limestone drain (ALD) that was covered with a constructed wetland. In 1995, the performance declined substantially. Sampling since 2011 showed little difference between the influent and effluent chemistry of the system. The 2018 redesign of the passive treatment system considered current concentrations, which were 75% lower than in 1993. The condition of the limestone aggregate was investigated by excavating a pit into the ALD. Most of the limestone was clean, suggesting that the failure of the passive system was due to plugged flow paths, not armoring of the stone. A passive treatment plan was developed that includes drainable limestone beds, arranged in parallel, that discharge to a settling/polishing pond. The presentation describes the original treatment system, presents sampling data generated over the last 25 years, shows the results of the limestone investigation, and presents the current passive treatment redesign concept. https://wvmdtaskforce.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/2019-0800-hedin-skousen-wald-douglas-task-force-2019.pdf



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