Friends of Blackwater has entered into a contract with the engineering company BioMost to design a water treatment site that will restore the North Fork of the Blackwater Riv-er. The next step will be meetings with BioMost and DEP engineers who have designed similar treatment sites, to make sure that the design is compliant with DEP requirements and that as much acid mine drainage pollution as possible will be captured and treated.
This project is the result of over 15 years of regular water monitoring, with the help of some great volunteers, countless hours of grant writing, dozens of watershed-related educational events, and years spent convincing the DEP to take action to remove the North Fork of the Black-water from the “impaired waterway” list.
This is a huge project that will capture AMD pollution from many sources. We anticipate having a finalized design in April 2021, which will be given to the DEP to construct. Friends of Blackwater gives a big shout out to everyone who has supported this effort. Thanks and stay tuned!