Research Points To Inexpensive Aid For Acidic Streams
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Researchers in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences have found that a few
feet of pipe, some concrete man
hole sections, and a pile of lime
stone rocks can make an acidic
stream flow cleaner, thanks to a
Swedish idea and a commitment
to finding an inexpensive solution
to a severe problem.
Dean Arnold, adjunct assistant
professor of aquatic ecology in the
School of Forest Resources, said
tht several diversion wells de
signed to introduce calcium into
streams polluted by acid mine
drainage have succeeded in neu
tralizing the acidic water to levels
that allow the return of insects,
fish, and other aquatic life.
According to Arnold, a diver
sion well is a very simple machine
with no moving parts that bashes
calcium carbonate rocks lime
stone. to the layperson together
until the stones are reduced to a
size fine enough to be dissolved in
the stream. Lime applications
have long been used to neutralize
acids in soil and water, but apply
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ing lime to streams previously was
100 cumbersome and costly.
Acid mine drainage is caused
by seeping groundwater from ac
tive and abandoned mines, ac
cording to Arnold. Once coal is
mined, the surrounding rock ma
terial —often containing pyrite—
is left exposed to groundwater and
oxygen. Pyrite, or iron disulfide,
easily dissolves in water.
“Water causes pyrite to break
down into two parts sulfuric
acid and ferric hydroxide both
of which are harmful,” Arnold
said. “We worked with lime appli
cations IS years ago to neutralize
acid rain in lakes and streams and
tested various machines to add
lime to streams. A machine from
Sweden worked like a champion,
but it cost $36,000. However, we
saw another Swedish company’s
design for a diversion well, which
was much less expensive.”
Using the Swedish well as a
model, Arnold and his students
designed their own version. They
used concrete sections for man
holes and polyvinyl chloride pipe.
A diversion well works by dam
ming a stream and inserting an 8-
.1010-inch pipe through the dam to
divert water into a large well dug
deep enough to allow water to
drop at least 8 feet The water is
piped under the pressure of gravi
ty into limestone rocks. The forCfc
of the water acts as a giant blend
er. churning the stones into chips
and pieces small enough to dis
solve in water. The lime-laden
overflow is then reintroduced into
the stream.
“The key was to find a system
that is inexpensive, simple, rea
sonably weatherproof and capable
of being maintained by untrained
personnel,” Arnold said. “All you
have to do with a diversion well is
make sure the well is about half
full of limestone and that water is
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flowing through the pipe.”
Arnold says the best results
have come from limestone, also
called calcium carbonate, that is
about 95 percent calcium. He
warns that dolomite, also called
magnesium carbonate, will not
work in diversion wells because it
is harder to break up.
Research conducted over the
past two years by Malt Gray,
graduate student in wildlife and
fisheries science, shows that in
sect and fish populations signifi
cantly improve after treatment.
“An acidic stream has a pH of 4,
while a healthy stream has a pH
greater than 6,” Gray said. “The
streams treated by our diversion
wells get a consistent reading of
pH 5 to 5.5.”
As a result. Gray relates, acidi
fied streams where few plants, in
sects or fish could be found before
treatment have shown marked im
provement in biological indicators
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of stream health. “Mayflies, which
are extremely sensitive to acid in
streams, have returned,” he said.
“We found fish coming back into
our study streams as well.”
Much of Gray’s research cent
ers on whether the improved
streams could generate a food sys
tem with enough nutrients to sup
port a fish community. He studied
sodium loss, which causes high
mortality in trout released in aci
dic streams, and found no signifi
cant losses after the diversion well
treatment.
Gray also studies how leaves
falling into the stream decompose.
In acidic water, leaves do not de
compose quicldy, leaving little
food for insects. Gray’s research
found that leaf litter broke down
much faster in the treated water.
“Leaf litter is the basis of the food
chain in a small stream,” Gray
said. “Increase decomposition and
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