Abandoned+Mine+Drainage

=Welcome to Mrs. Bowman's Science pages= Pollution in Pennsylvania Streams Biology II- Torri Davis Pennsylvania Streams · Pennsylvania streams are important because are home to many aquatic life and it is a source of water for other animals. · There are 85,000 miles of streams and rivers, 18% of stream miles are polluted or impaired. · The Pennsylvania organization for Watersheds and River’s mission statement is POWR advocates for the protection, restoration and enjoyment of our common wealth of water resources, and conducts programs that foster stewardship, communication, leadership and action. A watershed is an area of land that drains into a lake or river. As rainwater and melting snow run downhill, they carry sediment and other materials into our streams, lakes, [|wetlands]  and [|groundwater] .

Abandoned Mine Drainage · Acidic mine drainage kills all stream life. Acidic is more detrimental than alkaline because of the aluminum. With alkaline mine drainage iron oxide forms. It further oxidizes and clouds the water. Since the water is cloudy it makes photosynthesis hard. It also clogs up fishes gills and makes it impossible for insects to cling to rocks because they are so slimy. · To clean up acidic mine drainage you have to raise the Ph level. To clean up alkaline mine drainage you have to remove the iron; you can do this by making several settling ponds.

Farmland Run-Off · Directly nitrates and phosphates will kill the stream life. Indirectly it will kill the plants and eventually kill everything around it. · The way to prevent farmland run-off is to control the farmer’s livestock better
 * · ****<span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-weight: normal;">Soil from eroding land that washed into streams makes the water look muddy and can smother aquatic life, clog fish gills, and cut off light that underwater plants need to grow **



<span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Impact','sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Treatment Methods · <span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">The main cause of stream pollution is farmland run-off and the nitrate levels in the streams. · <span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">To reduce pollution in the streams they are using settling ponds and dams, and chemical treatments.

__<span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">Works Cited __ <span style="color: #ff6699; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">Tom Davenport, Getting to know your local watershed, 4-30-10 [] Ravi Varma, Pennsylvania organization of watersheds and rivers, 4-30-10 [] Human Impact on Ecosystems and Biosphere, 5-3-10, Mrs. Bowman