Hughes bore hole
Encyclopedia
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage , or acid rock drainage , refers to the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. However, other areas where the earth has been disturbed may also contribute acid rock drainage to the environment...
site located near the southwest central borough of Portage, Pennsylvania
Portage, Pennsylvania
Portage is a borough within Portage Township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Ebensburg and west-southwest of Altoona. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coal mining was the lifeblood of Portage. In 1900, 816 people lived there, and in 1910,...
in Cambria County. In the 1920s, a hole was drilled in order to remove water from the myriad coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mines in the area. In the 1950s, the bore hole was capped, but in the 1970s, enough pressure was established to blow off the cap. As a result, an estimated volume of water in the range of 800 to 3,500 gallons per minute flows from the bore hole. It is estimated that a daily amount of 8,000 pounds of dissolved metals has flooded a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) area and pollutes the nearby Little Conemaugh River
Little Conemaugh River
The Little Conemaugh River is a tributary of the Conemaugh River, approximately 30 mi long, in western Pennsylvania in the United States....
.
Efforts are currently underway in an attempt to mitigate the situation.