THOMAS, W.Va. — An environmental group concerned with cleaning up the Blackwater River is hoping the Department of Environmental Protection will consider a change in it’s treatment lineup in the Blackwater River watershed.
Friends of Blackwater released a report which found the largest single contributor of pollution to the watershed was old mine works on the North Fork of Blackwater River. Director Judy Rodd said although the state has spent $9 Million over the last 15 years, the water quality hadn’t significantly improved.
“That branch of the Blackwater is a major contributor of acid mine drainage to the upper Cheat,” said Rodd. “If we could get that dealt with the whole Blackwater through the canyon and on down into Parsons and Preston County would be significantly improved.”
The money in the region was spend largely on reclamation and remediation of land with the closing of old open mine shafts and elimination of high walls to make the area safer.
Rodd acknowledged the work by the DEP and Division of Natural Resources to significantly improve water quality on the Beaver Creek tributary. The stretch downstream from Beaver Creek took a hit recently with a limestone dosing station malfunctioned and released too much hydrated lime into the waterway. The result was a fish kill when the pH level surged so high the gauge couldn’t record the actual level.
During the investigation, the DNR reported the doser which malfunctioned hadn’t been used much this summer because the level of pH in the water remained fairly stable, controlled mostly by a doser on Beaver Creek. Rodd and her organization have suggested to the state the doser could be of more use if moved from its present location to North Fork.
Rodd said the state has been reluctant to try to treat the Northfork because of the volume of acid mine drainage coming from an old mine works known as Old Mine Portal 29.
“The flow is so high and the water is so bad, they have been fearful of spending the money to raise that pH,” she said. “But I think anything they can do would be helpful downstream.”
Rodd said the DEP has been receptive to the suggestion, but so far hasn’t indicated if they’ll consider relocating the lime doser once the bugs are worked out of the software which caused the fish kill.