CLEAR April 2021

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4 discussions

Bimonthly Water Quality Sampling - ORSANCO
by Duane Nichols 26 Apr '21

26 Apr '21

Bimonthly Water Quality Sampling - ORSANCO The Bimonthly Water Quality Sampling Program is ORSANCO’s long-term water quality monitoring program for the Ohio River. The monitoring program began in 1975 and has a continuous record through the present day at 29 locations: 15 stations on the main stem of the Ohio River and 14 points near the mouth of major tributaries. The program’s six-sample annual design provides long-term trend monitoring of the Ohio River while maintaining an ability to evaluate attainment of water quality criteria. Samples are collected every second month, in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Water Quality Parameters Ammonia as Nitrogen Bromide Chloride Hardness (as CaCO3) Nitrate Nitrite pH Specific Conductivity Sulfate Temperature Total Dissolved Solids Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen Total Organic Carbon Total Phenolics Total Phosphorus Total Suspended Solids Sample Locations Most samples are collected from United States Army Corps of Engineers Locks and Dams, the remainder are collected from bridge or bank locations. The Bimonthly Sampling Program Monitoring Stations are (Ohio River confluence mile points are given for tributary stations with tributary mile points enclosed in parenthesis): Allegheny River at Pittsburgh, Ohio River Mile 0.0, (-7.4) Monongahela River at South Pittsburgh, Ohio River Mile 0.0, (-4.5) Beaver River at Beaver Falls, Ohio River Mile 25.4, (-5.3) Ohio River at New Cumberland, Mile 54.4 Ohio River at Pike Island, Mile 84.2 Ohio River at Hannibal, Mile 126.4 Ohio River at Willow Island, Mile 161.8 Muskingum River at Marietta, Ohio River Mile 172.2, (-0.8) Ohio River at Belleville, Mile 203.9 Kanawha River at Winfield, Ohio River Mile 265.7, (-31.1) Ohio River at R.C. Byrd, Mile 279.2 Big Sandy River at Louisa, Ohio River Mile 317.1, (-20.3) Ohio River at Greenup, Mile 341 Scioto River at Lucasville, Ohio River Mile 356.5, (-15) Ohio River at Meldahl, Mile 436.2 Little Miami River at Newtown, Ohio River Mile 464.1, (-7.5) Licking River at Covington, Ohio River Mile 470.2, (-4.5) Great Miami River at Elizabethtown, Ohio River Mile 491.1, (-5.2) Ohio River at Markland, Mile 531.5 Ohio River at McAlpine, Mile 606.8 Ohio River at Cannelton, Mile 720.7 Green River at Sebree, Ohio River Mile 784.2, (-41.3) Ohio River at Newburgh, Mile 776 Ohio River at J.T. Myers, Ohio R. Mile 846 Wabash River at Route 62 Bridge, Ohio River Mile 848, (-32.5) Ohio River at Smithland, Mile 918.5 Cumberland River at Pinkneyville, Ohio River Mile 920.4, (-16) Tennessee River at Paducah, Ohio River Mile 934.5, (-6) Ohio River at L&D 52, Mile 938.9 (this location to be phased out during 2018-2019) Ohio River at Olmsted L&D, Mile 964.6 Grab Sample Methods River water samples are collected as near to the centerline of the river as possible from lockchamber guidewalls, bridges, and in some cases from raw water intake lines. To sample from outside structures an acid, distilled, and native water-rinsed bailer, stainless steel bucket, or Kemmerer sampler is used with sufficient nylon rope attached to reach the river surface. Samples are transferred from the collection device to a likewise triple-rinsed ten-liter plastic carboy. The sample water is distributed from the carboy to sample bottles, each containing preservative if required by the analytical methods to be employed. For more information on the Bimonthly Water Quality Sampling Program, please contact Ryan Argo. http://www.orsanco.org/programs/bimonthly-water-quality-sampling/

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‘We have a lot to lose now': FOC water chemistry results cause concern after T&T Mine event
by Duane Nichols 24 Apr '21

24 Apr '21

> 'We have a lot to lose now': FOC water chemistry results cause concern after T&T Mine event > > https://www.dominionpost.com/2021/04/23/we-have-a-lot-to-lose-now-foc-water… Gabriella Brown, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. Sat, April 24, 2021, 12:01 AM·5 min read Apr. 24—MORGANTOWN — Chemistry test results collected by Friends of the Cheat has caused the organization concern over the long-term impacts the T &T Mine event may have on aquatic life. "We have a lot to lose now, " said FOC Executive Director Amanda Pitzer. "And we need to fight to protect that." In early March, rainfall and snowmelt caused 6, 200 gallons per minute of highly acidic water to discharge from the former T &T Mine. The site typically treats about 4, 200 gallons of water per minute and can sustain up to 7, 600 gpm ; however, the sudden increase led the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Muddy Creek Pipeline and T &T Treatment Plant to fail. > This allowed more than one million gallons of highly acidic water to bypass the plant over the course of the event. > Terry Fletcher, WVDEP acting communications director, said stream conditions for Muddy Creek and the Cheat River returned to normal a few days later, and the pH of Muddy Creek returned back to preferred water quality limits. > > What the test results conducted by FOC may reveal Although water quality returned to normal, Pitzer said water chemistry results recently retrieved by FOC show the discharge may have had a severe impact on the stream's aquatic life. > > Aluminum and iron are two types of metals found in acid mine drainage to which some aquatic species are highly sensitive. Pitzer said water samples collected during the discharge revealed dissolved aluminum levels reached nearly seven times more than the state water quality standard for aquatic life, and over 50 times the standard for trout. > > Iron levels reached 10 times over the standard for aquatic life as well as for human recreational contact, meaning the waterway was not safe for human contact. > > Downstream, dissolved aluminum levels reached almost nine times higher than the standard for aquatic life, and 74 times greater for trout. Iron was 15 times greater for aquatic life and human recreational contact. These iron conditions reached as far as three-quarters of a mile downstream. > > "If this were to have just been a one-day event, I think that everyone could maybe take a deep breath and say, 'OK, the fish could probably weather that, ' " Pitzer said. "But this went on for several days." > > Fletcher said no impacts to wildlife have been documented and Muddy Creek is in better shape today than it has been for decades. > > Pitzer said one of her main concerns is lack of communication, as the public was not made aware until several days after the discharge began. She said FOC became aware of the incident only after seeing acid mine drainage during a routine check-up March 4. > > Fletcher said this delay in communication occurred because the changes seen March 1 were not alarming. > > "The WVDEP noticed changes in the chemistry of the water coming out of the mine early in the week of the event, " Fletcher said. "But those changes were not alarming because changes in chemistry of water discharging from a former mine site is not uncommon." > > Due to a decrease in water quality from the mine, WVDEP modified treatment at Fickey Run by shutting off the upstream site and treating the stream with in-stream dosers. > > "This is an effective treatment option under normal flow conditions and the downstream monitoring point in Muddy Creek showed the water to be within water quality standards, " Fletcher said. > > Fletcher said there was no indication that flow out of the mine would increase later in the week and the decision to modify treatment had no effect on the conveyance pipe issue that occurred. He said the WVDEP became aware of the damage to the conveyance pipe March 4 and issued a statement the following day. > > Moving towards prevention strategies FOC and the WVDEP are now turning to prevention strategies rather than treating the symptoms of this type of incident. > > "If we can prevent water from getting into that mine pool, we stop the chemical reaction that creates acid mine drainage before it starts, " Pitzer said. "If water continues to get into that mine pool, we're going to produce acid mine drainage forever. That's not an exaggeration." > > Fletcher said the WVDEP is working with the WVU Water Research Institute, experts in the public and private sectors, and FOC to identify causation and develop solutions to prevent future events. He said prevention is not guaranteed, especially since the agency cannot confirm what caused this past event. > > In its newsletter, FOC outlined several action statements discussed during a meeting led by the WVDEP to discuss possible preventative measures: > > — Reactivation of the piezometers, which measure liquid pressure, for measuring water levels in the mine pool and a mapping analysis to determine where additional piezometers could be installed. > > — Use high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging and ground-truthing to look for potential stream loss areas in Sypolt Run (spots where surface water is disappearing through cracks in the stream bed and into the mine pool). > > — Investigate the need and feasibility to treat mine pool on site with chemicals. > > — Use potable water at treatment plant so both clarifiers can be operated at 100 % capacity. > > — Continue work to construct new sludge line to the Ruthbell mine. > > — Construct an iron oxidation bed at Fickey Refuse Abandoned Mine Land site. > > — Increase the frequency of line jetting. > > — Share emergency Standard Operating Procedure with FOC. > > Water quality has given the WVDEP and FOC a snapshot into how aquatic life may have been impacted. Until researchers are able to survey firsthand now and in the fall which species remain in the stream, it is impossible to know what was affected. > > "If I go out and I dip my cup in the water, that's only going to tell me what's happening in the water at that moment, " Pitzer said. "When we are able to go out and see the bugs and the fish—they have to live there, so they give you a more holistic view of long-term what's been happening in that river stream." > > Real-time updates on Muddy Creek water quality from the Friends of the Cheat monitoring station can be found at: > > www.cheat.org /our-work /muddy-creek-gauge-live-data-stream /

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The Fike Family of Preston County
by Duane Nichols 24 Apr '21

24 Apr '21

http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/preston/bios/fike.txt “On two Occasions he reached home frozen to his saddle and had to be helped from the horse, his hands and feet being thawed out in cold water. He paid little attention to swollen streams, fording or swimming them on his horse. Once he tried to urge his horse into Cheat River when it was high, but his faithful animal refused to make the venture, and later he discovered that the stream had washed a new channel ten feet deep at that point.”

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Rowlesburg to receive new tree seedlings near VFD
by Duane Nichols 13 Apr '21

13 Apr '21

https://news.yahoo.com/rowlesburg-receive-tree-seedlings-near-040100066.html Rowlesburg to receive new tree seedlings near VFD Mon, April 12, 2021, 12:01 AM Apr. 12—ROWLESBURG — The bank of the Cheat River near the Rowlesburg Volunteer Fire Department on Chestnut Street will soon be home to 100 seedlings. The seedlings are being planted to help shore up the banks of the river. The seedlings, from the West Virginia State Nursery's Mountaineer Trailways Program, include sycamore, river burch, poplar and red bud. Kelley Burd-Huss, community development coordinator of Preston Trail Towns, said the project is a collaboration between the Friends of the Cheat, the Rowlesburg Volunteer Fire Department and the Town of Rowlesburg. "We're stabilizing the shoreline and choking out some of the invasive plants, " she said. Burd-Huss said one of the invasive plants growing on the bank of the river is Japanese knotweed. Knotweed is a perennial plant with hollow, red-speckled bamboo-like stems. It can grow over 10 feet tall, and pieces of the plant can root themselves if they are discarded. Preston Trail Towns is a project of Friends of the Cheat. The program connects trails to small towns. She said the towns in Preston County they are working with are Albright and Rowlesburg. Burd-Huss said the idea behind the trails to towns program is to use what is already available in the town and turn it into a sustainable economy. She said FOC is looking for projects with which they can partner. "It's not one of those mini-grant things that we provide money and material for, " Burd-Huss said. "It's more like a relationship. We look at the resources we have and what can be done. This project is a good example of what we do." Mitch Klein, secretary and section coordinator for Allegheny Trails, said some trails are not as well known as others. He said adding a kiosk is one way to let people using the trails know what the town has to offer. He said he and Burd-Huss will scout locations to place kiosks. "I hope mountain bikes are allowed on the trails, " Klein said. "If you want a trail, let (mountain bikers) know they are welcome, and they will make you a trail." TWEET @DominionPostWV Sent from my iPad

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CLEAR April 2021