Valley Girl Views: Fall Brook Acid Mine Treatment Ponds

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Fall Brook Acid Mine Treatment Ponds

Just past the entrance to Fall Brook Falls is the Fall Brook Mine Acid Treatment Area.

Two brilliant blue ponds, where water is being filtered through limestone to remove the toxins.

"The Fall Brook facility consists of three limestone beds, where water from the mine discharge is piped. Once it is filtered, it is flushed one at a time into a polishing pond, where more sedimentation and harmful materials are flushed out, and then the largely cleaned water is released back into the Fall Brook tributary, Charlie Andrews explained." http://www.sungazette.com/news/region/2016/06/open-house-today-for-the-fall-brook-acid-mine-drainage-treatment-facility/

“Fall Brook is the first of four major tributaries contributing to acid mine drainage pollution in the Tioga River that has left approximately 13 miles of the river void of aquatic life. Because of this facility, 2 miles of Fall Brook and 3 miles of the Tioga River will be restored to a condition that will support stocked trout populations. It will also reduce pollution loads in the main stem of the river all the way to the Tioga/Hammond Dam complex and will lay the groundwork for future reclamation projects,” said Charlie Andrews, president of TCCCC.

http://www.sungazette.com/news/region/2016/06/open-house-today-for-the-fall-brook-acid-mine-drainage-treatment-facility/

To Get To The Nearby Waterfalls -
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/08/fall-brook-falls-upper-lower-falls.html

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At A Different Location -

Earlier in this same week, coincidentally, we had been out near Berlin Pa and had seen the blue ponds there. The ponds there look very different, they appear to be more natural ponds, and not an official treatment area, although I really do not know enough about the area to be sure. We had a chance to visit, but since I am not certain the area is open to the public, I am not sharing the address here. I will say that these ponds were loaded with frogs, so although they may in fact be toxic, the frogs did not seem to mind the water. Still, I wouldn't go swimming in them myself, without knowing a lot more about them!