Askam Borehole

Water that flows from the Askam Borehole contains a significant amount of iron deposits. Upon exposure to air, the iron precipitates in the form of iron hydroxide, a reddish-orange compound that coats stream channels.{{Citation |author=Earth Conservancy |title=Askam Borehole AMD Treatment System |url=http://earthconservancy.org/projects/amd/askam-borehole/ |author-link=Earth Conservancy |accessdate=April 18, 2015}} The borehole contributes pollution to Nanticoke Creek.

In the 1970s, an Operation Scarlift report found the concentration of acidity in the discharges of the Askam Borehole to be 633 parts per million and the pH was measured to be 3.7. The concentration of iron was 384 parts per million and the sulfate concentration was 1936 parts per million. The daily load of acidity was found to be {{convert|29100|lb|kg}} and the daily load of iron was {{convert|17660|lb|kg}}.{{Citation|url = http://www.amrclearinghouse.org/Sub/SCARLIFTReports/Nanticoke/CostAnalysis.pdf|title = V cost analysis of AMD abatement|pages = 4–5|year = 1975|accessdate = April 18, 2015}}

The Askam Borehole discharges {{convert|3500|USgal|m3}} of acid mine drainage per minute into Nanticoke Creek. The discharge of the borehole can reach up to {{convert|7000|USgal|m3}} per minute during heavy rain.{{Citation|author = Paul Golias|newspaper = The Citizens' Voice|url = http://citizensvoice.com/news/project-to-rid-acid-mine-water-in-the-works-1.1445926|title = Project to rid acid mine water in the works|date = February 18, 2015|accessdate = April 18, 2015}} In the 1970s, an Operation Scarlift report found the discharge of the borehole to be 5.51 million gallons per day.

The Askam Borehole is located in Hanover Township, in the central part of Luzerne County.{{Citation|author = Pennsylvania Academy of Science|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=I-JJAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Askam+Borehole%22|title = Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, Volume 74|page = 135|year = 2000|accessdate = April 18, 2015|author-link = Pennsylvania Academy of Science}} The borehole is in the watershed of Nanticoke Creek, whose watershed has been deep mined and strip mined in the past. The borehole is near Dundee Road and Pennsylvania Route 29.

The Askam Borehole is one of two major outlets for mine water from the South-East Mine Pool Complex, with the other being the South Wilkes-Barre Boreholes.{{Citation|url = http://www.amrclearinghouse.org/Sub/SCARLIFTReports/MillCreekLuzerne/SummaryofFindings.pdf|title = SUMMARY OF FINDINGS|page = 1|accessdate = April 18, 2015}} The borehole itself has a diameter of {{convert|30|in|cm}}.{{Citation|author1=Thomas M. Walski |author2=Stephen J. Draus |author3=Kenneth M. Klemow |author4=William J. Tarutis, Jr. |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.asmr.us/Publications/Conference%20Proceedings/1997/06.PDF |title=Hydrologic modeling of coal-mine impacts and associated remediation alternatives for the Nanticoke Creek watershed |page=3 |accessdate=April 18, 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142120/http://www.asmr.us/Publications/Conference%20Proceedings/1997/06.PDF |archivedate=March 4, 2016 }}

The Askam Borehole is the main point by which the T-B{{Clarify|date=February 2016}} mine workings discharge acid mine drainage into Nanticoke Creek. The borehole is the only source of water for the lower reaches of Nanticoke Creek. It discharges in two different locations.{{Citation|work = Pennsylvania Bulletin|url = http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol43/43-28/1254f.html|title = Federal Water Pollution Control Act Section 401|date = July 13, 2013|accessdate = April 18, 2015}}

The Askam Borehole is named after Askam, a nearby village. It was drilled in the early 1970s by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (later known as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection). The borehole was created for the purpose of alleviating water pressure from an underground mine pool that was causing groundwater to flood local basements. In 1975, an Operation Scarlift report estimated that the cost of treating the borehole's discharge would be $1,011,600 per year in 1975 dollars.

An active treatment system for the Askam Borehole was proposed by the Earth Conservancy by 2013. As of 2014, the Earth Conservancy has been constructing, testing, and monitoring an abandoned mine drainage treatment system at the Askam Borehole. The treatment system makes use of a technology known as the Maelstrom Oxidizer, which uses electricity to blow air across the surface of the water, causing iron to precipitate from the water before the water is moved to a holding pond and then into the stream. The treatment system is known as the Askam AMD Treatment System or the Askam Treatment System.{{Citation|author = Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Restoration|url = http://epcamr.org/home/2014/epcamr-monitoring-the-earth-conservancys-askam-amd-treatment-system-in-the-nanticoke-creek-watershed/|title = EPCAMR Monitoring the Earth Conservancy's Askam AMD Treatment System in the Nanticoke Creek Watershed|date = January 31, 2014|accessdate = April 18, 2015|author-link = Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Restoration}} An artificial wetland has also been used to treat the borehole's discharges.{{Citation|author1=J.J. Chaplin |author2=C.A. Cravotta III |name-list-style=amp |url = http://mine-drainage.usgs.gov/pubs/cravotta/agu00_abs.pdf|title = Abatement of Abandoned Mine Drainage Requires Characterization of Interaction Between Surface Water and Underground Mine Water (Abstract #6670)|year = 2000|accessdate = April 18, 2015}} This wetland was constructed in May 1999 and has an area of {{convert|2.2|acre|ha}}.

In the 2010s, the Earth Conservancy was awarded a $250,000 grant by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the Askam Borehole discharges.{{Citation|author = Amanda Whitman|url = http://www.northcentralpa.com/article/dep-awards-73-grants-protect-improve-watersheds-36-counties|title = DEP Awards 73 Grants to Protect, Improve Watersheds in 36 Counties|date = February 4, 2015|accessdate = April 18, 2015|archive-url = https://archive.today/20150419004434/http://www.northcentralpa.com/article/dep-awards-73-grants-protect-improve-watersheds-36-counties|archive-date = 2015-04-19|url-status = dead}} There are plans for the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Restoration to continue to take biological stream samples and water quality measurements in the vicinity of the Askam Borehole.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://earthconservancy.org/projects/amd/ Abandoned Mine Drainage]
• [http://mine-drainage.usgs.gov/ USGS Mine Drainage Activities]

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Category:Buildings and structures in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Category:Boreholes