Coal Project - Day 2

We checked water quality at Yellow Creek in Canaan Valley. Dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids(conductivity), pH, temperature, and turbidity were the categories checked. The water quality was better than we expected largely because the pH was higher at 6.1 than anticipated. The overall water quality was moderately good. The next place we visited was where coke ovens were once used to prepare coal for use in the production of coal. These ovens have been abandoned and is now an historical site pprotected by archeology laws. The next site we sampled was located at Douglas Falls on the Blackwater River. This site is an example of iron pyrite entering a stream and a bacteria called thiobacillus, a chemoautotroph, thrives in the environment. Sulfuric acid is produced with iron collecting on the rocks and streambed. This causes the streambed and banks to appear orange or rust-colored. This rust is called yellowboy. The water quality was moderate to low due to acid mine runoff and blowouts from flooded abandoned. The pictures are of Yellow Creek and Douglas Falls.