Introduction

A Closer Look: The Elk Valley

• Concerns Facing the Mining Industry

Taking Care of the Environment: Greenhills

Air Quality Control

Water Quality and Drainage Control

Testing Water Quality

Reclamation of Post-Mining Areas

Why Do Research?

Conclusion

Testing Water Quality⁵

It is important for mines to keep their water clean to protect the habitat of the fish that live in nearby streams and ponds. The water balance or chemistry needs to stay the same for the fish to survive. To make sure this happens, samples are taken from the water that flows out of the sediment pond, and tested for water chemistry and the amount of sediment that they contain.

Keeping the water clean

If the results tell us that our water is too dirty the first thing that we have to do is find out why. Was there a mudslide? Is one of our diversion ditches clogged? Maybe one of our sediment ponds is full?

Once we know where the sediment is coming from we need to control it. If there was a mudslide then we are going to have to clean up the mud and make a new diversion ditch to carry the water. If one of our ditches is clogged then we need to clean it out and move whatever is blocking the water. If our sediment pond is not working well then we need to clean the smaller pond that traps most of the sediment.

"Evidence of clean, healthy streams at the minesite"

We now know that we've done a good job and that the creeks and streams will be clean for our fish live in.

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