2016 ODNR Acid Mine Drainage Reclamation Project- Holmes Wetland AMD
General
Problem Description
The Holmes AMD Project area is located within the unincorporated village of Wainwright in Tuscarawas County, Ohio off of Silver Creek Road and 2nd Street. The AMD discharge from the project area enters the Silver Creel tributary at river mile 0.8 and the Silver Creek tributary enters Mud Run at river mile 1.84. The project site discharge (SC020) is a diffuse deep mine discharge that originates from an unidentified 1960's high wall cut to the west that intercepted a portion of the Starfisted Coal Company's Heater mine (TS-351) that was abandoned in 1922. The coal seam mined was the Middle Kittaning No. 6 seam. This AMD discharge is then combined with the discharge from the Alexander Mine Drain, an ODNR-MRM Public Health and Safety project that was installed in 2013 to stabilize a hillside above several residences in the area. The combined discharge from this site constitutes the largest iron loader in the Silver Creek sub-watershed and the largest AMD impact to the Mud Run main stem in the lower reaches. The Holmes AMD discharge has a current pH of 3.0, an iron load of 96.36 lbs/day and an acid load of 230.00 lbs/day. The discharge negatively impacts the 0.8 mile of Silver Creek and the 1.84 miles that main stem of Mud Run by limiting the biological resources downstream.
Solution Description
The goal of the Holmes AMD project is to build a passive AMD treatment system that will reduce the acid and iron loadings and the amount metal precipitates entering Mud Run and the Tuscarawas River. By treating this discharge, the biological recovery of the main stem of Mud Run can begin. The AMDAT has identified 3 potential AMD projects to restore water quality in Mud Run including the Holmes AMD Project. Given the chemistry of the mine drainage, the treatment system will include the addition of limestone berms to the existing wetland to increase the retention time and allow for the precipitation of iron and out of the drainage the pH will decrease. To add alkalinity to the drainage after metals removal a limestone leach bed downstream of the enhanced wetland area will be constructed. The addition of alkalinity will increase ph of the water after passing through the wetland and before entering Silver Creek. This will greatly improve the water quality in the lower1.84 rover miles of Mud Run and this reduce the impact on the water in the Tuscarawas River.
The engineer’s preliminary estimate for the construction of this project is $275,326.00. DMRM would like to construct this project in 2016 but it has insufficient funds to do so. The financial shortfall is approximately $76,000.00
Grant Funding
Total request amount from MWCD PWM Program $76,000.00
Amount granted from MWCD $76,000.00
Location Information
Activity Log
This project was complete in November 2016.
